Board of Regents of the University of OklahomaThe Cow of the Barricades and Other Stories: Raja Rao as a Short Story Writer Author(s): M. K. Naik Source: Books Abroad, Vol. 40, No. 4 (Autumn, 1966), pp. 392-396 Published by: Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40121044 Accessed: 21-06-2016 18:00 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Books Abroad This content downloaded from 115.248.114.51 on Tue, 21 Jun 2016 18:00:00 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms "Narsiga" shows how the national consciousness roused by Gandhi percolates into the mind of a small illiterate orphan.The Cow of the Barricades and Other Stories: Raja Rao as a Short Story Writer By M. 21 Jun 2016 18:00:00 UTC All use subject to http://about. in a flowerchariot drawn by sixteen steeds. The Serpent still a vital force working for the good as and the Rope." where the author goes up north and in "A Client.." In "In Khandesh. Rajo Rao does not lie. though.jstor." and "In Khandesh." They are set in the Thirties2 .might profitably The holy cow named after the goddess Gauri. tradition.and The Serpent and the Rope with its almost Furthermore. the "heartbreak at the heart prepared to work for their pleasure . Yet these stories are by no means of merely stand by the railway line to show their loyalty to the British emperor."1 Those. we are taken to a city). though the locale of these of things" which the best of them capture is ultimately true to the kindred points of home and the universal human condition. and if it lacks Indian synthesis. yet Gauri.. The Cow of the Barricades and three stories ." where. has been hailed as "an >. a book to read and reread. ancient myth and legend get inseparably mixed with Gandhi's life and character." the sweep of his opus. they are angry. in that process. and for those who are prepared to work for their pleasure. is a martyr in the cause of the modern Indian freedom struggle. K.epic . though the impact of for "You know how some devilish.114.51 on Tue. with his wife Sita . for it pass by the village and the Village Headman's orders are that the villagers should marked the beginning of Gandhi's nonviolent struggle against the British.. The unrest of the Thirties is mirrored in endless philosophical acrobatics and its untiring intellectual wanderlust does demand much from the reader . however. and this accounts for the appeal and the power of the book."3 The sacred cow. author. is part of the ancient Indian The epigraph on the title page of the book is perhaps the key to the heart of these stories." "Narsiga. but that they should stand with their backs to the train - topical interest. prostitute-born scoundrels tried to put a bomb beneath the train of the Representative of the Most High across the Seas. The India of these stories is mostly rural South India (except in "In Khandesh" where the setting shifts slightly farther up to Maharashtra. The quotation is from Kabir. well as to the detriment of the community. published back in 1947." the Viceroy's special train is to ful period in modern Indian history. as Narsiga the orphan imagines the great man "going in the air. is of the very essence of Raja Rao. it has still its own dedicated to a god or a temple and there- compensations.248.. they also reveal how the traditional mores of Indian life are The traditional mores of Indian life are This content downloaded from 115. is an expressive symbol of the Other Stories. in "Companions./ And I cannot lie. a magnificent guide to India.org/terms . fore inviolable. who are not so stories is India.the title story "The Cow of the Barricades. who dies of a bullet fired by a British Officer during the freedom riots and thus probably saves the lives of many in the village." In these sharply etched vignettes of Indian village life. For. NAIK Rao's great novel. turn to a much earlier book by the same in the first story. of India's power of "carrying on the old tradition and yet ever adapting it to changing times. for once. the fifteenth-century Indian saint-poet: "When I tell them the truth.a most event- the modern Indian resurgence brought about by the contact with the West is very much in evidence in them. imagining how they would bow to him and how he might perhaps send them "bags and bags of gold. "there is no necessity to see what you are eating. to Ramu." Javani assures young Ramappa." Poverty is the uncoveted birthright of the eyes." If the morning fire in the kitchen refuses to burn with a "hard. Belief in Karma. Javni." is a walking gazette making important announcements.is a potent force here. witch- or. so is the sight of a cat. Hence. first thing in the morning. The lowly-born are his servants. Dattopant and Govindopant. A plague epidemic becomes a terrible goddess from whose from Kabir.all killed by magic. "With these very two was going through his initiation ceremony.not in the restricted sense of a theory of God and a creed. tira-tira. who are all excitement at the Maharaja's passing by their village.RAJA RAO: SHORT STORIES 393 vividly depicted in most of the stories. Akkayya the child bride loses her husband.. gem-like flame. ("If you do not adopt me. self-denial. thinks Motilal. dusty road. the village grocer. he is determined to tell the dian village life thirty years ago emerges from these stories : You can reach a village only after a ten-mile cycle ride on a bare. Death was better. but in the wider sense of Dharma. I shall die now and grow into a lamb in my next life and you will buy it. who comes down from Gujarat. There is the Bania.248. bering that "the harvest was over and we But a lizard falling upon your right shoulder is sure to bring good luck.. you determine the exact time when a family came to a village by remem- clutches there is no escape. his married sister. "They only asked her not to put on the vermilion mark and she did not who loves the lowly-born Javni as if the latter were her mother. Raja Rao knows his Indian village through and icle of austerity.114. nobody knew. pierced your flesh and did a million unholy things. for there are spirits of all sorts walking in the dark." for the the new democratic and nationalistic urge at work. and transmigration of souls is strong." It is a motley crowd that lives in this world." Wife-beating is normal. and a widow's life is a long chron- her.jstor." it is an evil omen to Beti. and misery. but is perfectly unconcerned since she fails to understand the significance of the event. Vithobopant." Besides. through." He is the "chosen one." says the adolescent narrator to Javni in a spirit of badinage. at the rigid social code. A perfectly intimate picture of In- of superstitions here. but by significant landmarks either in the life of the community or in one's own.51 on Tue." Religion . whom she admonishes "never to go out after sunset. Little wonder then that the world of were husking the grains when they came". and Pandopant with their city chatter and subversive talk show work. but she could believe every word of it. drudgery. will not eat with mind that in the least. a whole way of life . in which the inevitable clash between the old and the new has set in. . "tom-tom." who soon runs up a prosperous business as a moneylender. "That happened when our little Ramu craft. Time is not reckoned by calendar and clock here.org/terms . because "the oil is too expensive. The village crier beating his drum." represent a deeply entrenched feudalism. "A Brahmin is not meant to Winds of change are already astir in this world of age-old tradition.) The division of society into rigid castes is still sacrosanct here. "All that they did there. Early marriages are the rule. and ghosts. "poor as a cur. while young Ramu chafes sacred books are his. the villager should be full of magic. If the village elders. true to the motto borrowed Ignorance and credulity foster a lush crop truth. It costs an anna4 a bottle. For instance. she enjoys the festival doll-show. They cut you. rebirth. and "affection does not ask you to be irreligious. must eat in the dark. The idea of the hospital horrifies plague-stricken Rati for. the simple servant maid. Again. I have seen the ghosts of more than a hundred young men and women . and. 21 Jun 2016 18:00:00 UTC All use subject to http://about. for that is irreligious. the professional This content downloaded from 115. the dangerous clique of Bolopant." people here. he is the twice-born. and changing. the ill-fated widow whose sister-in-law would not let her touch the latter's child.org/terms . questioning traditional values. Raja Rao is no dreamy-eyed romantic however. and when she had finished eating.394 BOOKS ABROAD matchmaker. on the whole. Gauri has that within her legend of Kanakapala. she knelt again. but is in death as in life only an irritating nuisance the Ganges during this most eventful period. and there are tears in your eyes. A modern which makes her more saintly than the trappings of orthodox sanctions."they" even said she had poisoned her husband because he was too old for her ." This description. "she looked very sad. pontificial Brahmin who has a vision of God. There is carefully as one articulates a string of holy milk in your breasts. is seen to be appeared.248. since Independence. and shapes and is shaped by it.has been. or Akkayya the child-widow who spends her long life in village life in these stories is now more than thirty years old. 21 Jun 2016 18:00:00 UTC All use subject to http://about. the saintly. It is indeed a way. malicious and clever as a jackal" . run down her cheeks. Narsiga's shrewish aunt. and ambled round him and disappeared among the bushes. though hardly to live. the simple peasant boy. the snake charmer. Strange indeed are her ways : "She came every Tuesday eve- ning before sunset to stand and nibble at the hair of the Master . clear as a drop of the Ganges. "protector of gold. And the Master's disciples gathered grain and grass and rice-water to give Hindi poet. Rao to an interviewer. curiously enough. shook her head and dis- ingless (for more than one reason) in the modern European (and to some extent in the modern Indian) context. daughter of rich parents.jstor. and the city-educated young man. though the actual progress is none too rapid. Maithilisaran Gupta. the Brahmin is no longer the "chosen one"." in the typical Indian nique. Yet there is much in this picture that is more or less true. and somebody had even seen a tear. whose husband does not spare the rod in correcting what to him appears to be a spoilt spouse.they all suffer and continue to exist. even today. They are all vividly realized. turned into a slave of her mother-in-law and a "casual wife of a husband with a mistress" .these provide admirable foils to upon which time left little impression for centuries . skilled in the art of catching prospective eligible bachelors. "For me literature is sadhana . and the face of rural India .Javni and Akkayya.114. Economic and social betterment is being vigorously attempted. the sadhu in his Ashram. in narrating the ancient cated" cow.not a pro- fession but a vocation. the Cow in the title story is as living a character as Javni herself. has summed up woman's destiny as "Even her every Tuesday. or pretty Rati." As the freedom struggle in her only too apt in the case of the women in these stories." declared Raja Javni and her ilk. efforts are afoot to break the strangle hold of ignorance and superstition upon the rustic mind." the author ends the introduction with a This content downloaded from 115. almost mean- words." It must be remembered that the picture of witch and an evil spirit". and. That's why I've published so few works. for the better. therefore. for she was of compassion infinite and true. alas! is your lot. But the most memorable characters in the book are the women. but she refused it all and took only the handful of grain the Master gave.5 His literary tech- The people in her village describe Javni as "good like a cow. "greedy. rapidly changing. For instance. . Whether it is Javni. or Beti. By no means an officially "god-dedi- part of the vision. and Sata. the woman's lot and the widow's are definitely improving. And till Tuesday next she was not to be seen. She munched it slowly and such. can hardly be considered in isolation from his vision. if a trifle too gradually. and not all his women are angels or Griseldas. for she is "a village grew more and more intense. Much water has flowed in bringing up other people's children. the good Ramakrishnayya's widowed daughter.a face to her relatives. especially the widows . O woman.51 on Tue. . "Death had entered the house like a cobra. They are carried on the billows of heat the earth is black.and move forward. the short story writer." go". for the discerning reader. he coins the names "Vithobopant" and "Bolopant. He is a master of descrip- over themes as diverse as the decadent Ben- This content downloaded from 115. Kanakapala's "Old. but he allows himself to write "builded" in one place7. "Else it would have been your marriage day" (else you would have had it) . the earth floats in a flood of heat. as a Mysorean not quite at home with Maharashtrian names in Khandesh." where the address to more than fifty years." Raja Rao's style." Hosakere Nunjundayya's "dust- As a short story writer. ending two lotus". Heaving and quivering. rayan? He clearly lacks their range and variety." "dog-born." manner. itself transformed in the process into truly "In- dian" English. In his wide sweep.248. and "anyway. Rustic speech is also larded with picturesque terms of of his best stories in a rather hackneyed reader than you and I.org/terms . the modern Indo-Anglian short story writer has always erred on the side of traditionalism in the matter of form.51 on Tue.jstor. and Na- prostitute. Raja Rao indeed car- dung". They swirl round and round upon their feet . even as the tempo of American or Irish life has gone into the making of theirs. wriggling and stretching sensuous apprehension of the Indian scene." "son of a compare with Tagore. even a miser will turn the Generous Cow" (i. . in the present book he presents a loamy pythons. Black and grey as the pura. Ak- blood of the earth mingles with the pus of the skies . here I have written the story of Akkayya. Men don't walk in Khandesh.6 If he recaptured this tempo in that buffalo. old skin . Tagore ranges But local color is not the only forte of Raja Rao's style." "A heart pure as the morning ries the process a little too far." and the like. shriveled like the castoff skin of a plantain". Raja is no more of an experimenter than Tagore. His similes smell of the Indian soil: "She beneath the awful beat of the sun was as red as the inside of a pumpkin". Anand. "The tempo of Indian life must be infused into our English expression. again. In fact. with their unnatural "o"s.to bear cotton. brides "beautiful as new-opened guavas. oaths and imprecations into the dear reader is likely to date the story by kayya's face "all wrinkled like a dry man- English.much more at least. and twisted like an endless line of novel.. dear Like Mulk Raj Anand. The village habit of prefixing an appropriate adjective to a proper name is well exemplified in names like Eight-verandahed-house Chowdayya. abuse such as "wife of a donkey. His English is usually flawless. King of Serpents. . 21 Jun 2016 18:00:00 UTC All use subject to http://about. thus securing a strong local color: "Always the same Ramayana" (it is always the same old story). covered feet seemed bluish green like cow- At one or two places. Raja Rao also literally translates Indian vernacular idioms and phrases. Cardamomfield Venkatesha." observed Raja Rao in his foreword to Kantha- pura: "In Khandesh the earth floats. and his picture of the summer "May those who read this be beloved of landscape in "In Khandesh" is as evocative Naga. the legendary divine cow which gratified all desires). The appellation of "the Red man" for the white man is equally typical. the fabled Kamadhenu.RAJA RAO: SHORT STORIES 395 benediction in the traditional Hindu style : tive prose.114. maybe her only funeral ceremony. "My father's face turned grey as a coconut. Destroyer of Ills. Raja Rao has nodded as badly at one or two other points also." which. the funeral ceremony might be of artistic propriety as well. captures the very feel as the descriptions of the seasons in Kantha- and flavor of the life it describes. "When one has a guest like you. she (Javni) was one of them . Anand. too." where. or Narayan. rising and shriveling. probably never had a local habitation in that part of India (at least so it strikes a south Maharashtrian) .e. How does Raja Rao. Birds don't fly in Khandesh. for instance: "And yet. and Plantation Subayya. quoted by K. now have alphabets that should enable them to transcribe an immense heritage of oral literature. Among them is the Bellman Prize of $6. with his socialistic sympathies. 7. nuity. "The caste mark was not on his face His tone and temper. with poor copper- ercise in style and in metaphysical inge- but on his soul." says Raja Rao about his Brahmin hero Ramu. p. though in the earlier novel. a domestic servant." The caste mark on Raja Rao's own soul has made his intellect run away with story and character in The Serpent and the Rope. p. under Unesco's auspices. 477. tva natter ("Two Days. 312.R. Sundman also won the prize for the best novel of the year awarded by the Ostersundsposten. Diana and Meir Gillon in The Sunday Times. This poetic and archaic form seems to be rather out of place in a narrative of modern life. The Discovery of India. and the universal in it more clearly than Raja Rao has done in his one book. But none of these writers has felt the pulse of village India with a surer touch. Narayan with his delicate touch brings out both the humor and the pathos in the lives of ordinary men and women . as in The Babus of Nayan- fatal Cleopatra to him in The Serpent and jore. Karnata\ University bred . Besides the Nobel prize. Six major West African languages have now been given a unified alphabet. that occasionally exasperating ex- and child and adolescent psychology as in The Postmaster and The Home-Coming. 2. The comparatively freer form of the novel has been a The oldest foundation granting aid to authors in Sweden is the Swedish Academy (founded 1786). as in Mashi. he is a committed writer.org/terms .114. from the sharp satire of The Parrot's Training to the lighthearted humor of My Fair Neigh- bour. Meeting at Bamako. too. 177. 2. Iyengar. S. poet. equivalent to less than a cent. p.. in "A Client. Companions which recounts an old medieval legend is an exception.V.jstor. 6. The sonnet's the ways of government offices and those "narrow plot of ground" proved a most salutary discipline for Wordsworth. line 6. Mulk Raj Anand is equally at home with rural or urban life. Kanthapura. 3.51 on Tue. spread over seven nations. the transitional.a beggar. and art historian) and the Author Award of $3. artist. 5. 44. a college-student. 1964.396 BOOKS ABROAD gali aristocracy. January 5. Sixteenth part of a rupee. 1. This content downloaded from 115.both rustic and city- cause Raja Rao did not submit himself oftener to the relatively more exacting discipline of the short story.V. nor seen the traditional. and others. a clerk. with much smaller framework. the damage was limited because of the smiths as well as with maharajas. the Rope. IndoAnglian writing is certainly the poorer be- of terrorists. The six linguistic groups. Nehru. The Illustrated Weekly of India. for his Tva dagar. p. can swing from the pathos of Cabuliwallah to the somber tragedy of The Trust Property.248.000 (1965 recipient was Sven Alfons. Mali. it has at its disposal the income of a number of other legacies and donations. the mind of an invalid. and governments now have national languages for adult literacy teaching and primary education. Indian Writing in English. an international group of linguists has produced a simple alphabet that enables all the sounds in six languages to be accurately represented in Roman letters. 4. This is perhaps the reason why he has the most distinctive style of all the Indo-Anglians.S. 21 Jun 2016 18:00:00 UTC All use subject to http://about. And.000 which last year was presented to Per Olof Sundman. p. It is to be regretted that Raja Rao has written so few short stories. a farmer. Two Nights"). 411) (see page 381) GIOSE RIMANELLI (see page 386) This content downloaded from 115. 21 Jun 2016 18:00:00 UTC All use subject to http://about.248.114.org/terms .jstor.VIKTOR NEKRASOV RAJA RAO (see pages 392.51 on Tue.
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