Assignment of write a note on social backgraound of Kanthapura

 Name: Makwana Monika
Roll No: 28
Paper-4: Indian writing in English
Topic: Write a Critical Note on the social background of Kanthapura
Enrollment No: 2069108420190027
Email I’d:  makwanamonika76@gmail.com
Submit to: smt. S. B. Gardi Department of English

Write a Critical Note on Social background of Kanthapura

Introduction

‘Kanthapura’ is a famous novel written by famous Indian writer “Raja Rao”. The novel is related about South Indian village kanthapura. It is an imagination of Raja Rao. In this novel there is description about situation of the village during the time of 1330 before freedom. It is a traditional novel with a neat leaner structure of and impact plot was written by Raja Rao. It is follows the oral traditional of Sthala Purana, or legendary history. The author is explains in his original foreword , there is o village in India, it means that has not a rich  legendary history of its own, in which  some famous figure of myth or history has made an appearance. The story was a narrated in flashback by Achakka, a wise women in village. The most powerful themes from Rao’s work come from the retelling the success and structure of the Indian independence movement. The story is birth of new idea in old India. In the story we can find the arguments against change of soul and not simply caste or social function are made forcefully by reactionaries.

• About  Author of the novel

Raja Rao was born in 1909 in Hassan, Mysore, India. After he graduated from University of Madras, he moved to University of Montpellier in France on a scholarship. He moved to United States in 1966. He belongs to Smartha Brahmin family of the hoysala Karnataka caste. He was the eldest of a siblings, he having seven sisters and a brother named Yogeshwara  Ananda. His father, H.V Krishnaswamy, taught Kannada, the native language of Karnataka, at Nizam College in Hydrabad. His Mother Gouramma, is a homemaker, who died when Rao was four years old. Raja Rao was educated in a Muslim school, when e was four years old, left a lasting impression on the novelist. His absence of a mother and orphan hood were recurring themes in his work.

• His Famous work

• Kanthapura
• The Serpent and the Rope
• The cat and the Shakespeare: A tale of India
• Comrade Kirillow
• The Chessmaster and his his movies
• Companions
• The little gram shop
• Nimaka

Characters of the novel ‘kanthapura’
In the novel, there are many major and minor characters. There are:-

•Major characters
 Achakka, Moorthy, Rangamma, Ratna, Bhatta, Mahatma Gandhi, Narsamma, Patel Range Gowda, The Swami, Rachanna, Rachi, Wterfall Venkamma, Dore,  Sahib, Bade khan, new sahib, Maistri, kenchamma, sankar

• Minor characters
The police Inspecter, Lingayya, Ramakrishnayya, Jayaramachar, Nanjamma, subba chetty, satamma, Temple Rangappa, Patwari, Batel Lakshamma, shenu, Pariah sidayya, potter siddayya, Advocate Ranganna, Temple Ranganna, Boranna, Rama chetty, chinnamma, vasudev, sidda, Coffee planter Ramayya, Potter Ramayya, weaver Ramayya, Coolie Ramayya, Postman subbayya, chadrayya, Kamalamma, Beadle timmayya, Pariah timmayya, postman surynarayana, Venkatalakshamma, Advocate senappa, Advocate seetharam, seetharam beadle chenna, coolie chenna, Dasappa, puttamma, sastri, Front house suranna, Timmamma, Radhamma, Ramana, Sadhu narayan.

• We can see that in the novel many characters are there, many major and minor characters and we can  find that , there are majority in the characters in the novel.

• About the novel ‘Kanthapura’

The famous novel Kanthapura was written by the famous English novelist Raja Rao. Kanthapura is a traditional novel about South Indian village. It was a famous novel of Raja Rao. It is the story of how Gandhi’s struggle for independence from the British came to a typical village in kanthapura in the south india. In this novel Rao describes thinking of peoples in the village kanthapara. In this novel Rao writes about situation of the village during the time of 1930 before freedom. The novel describes three aspects, there are:-

 Social  background

Political background

Religious background

There are important parts of this novel. The novel based on Social, religious, and political culture because, the novel ‘kanthapura’ is related to mythology and freedom fighting movement during the time 1930 before freedom. In begging of the novel, the major women character ‘Achakka’ is telling the story of village, she tells that she uses the language of her village language of the village. I novel Rao talks about political matter, there are a movement of freedom fighting  of ‘Gandiji’ through character of ‘Moorthy’ because people of kanthapura  was believed that moorthy is a second Gandhi.
In religious matter, talks about people’s Orthodox mind, Their thinking, language, festivals and many God and Goddess, After freedom fighting movement there was a transformation of village and it became ‘Kashipura’ from ‘Kanthapura’.

• Social background of Kanthapura
Social background is related with some aspects, there are-   mythology, poverty and illiterate people, women and Dalit’s situation, male dominated society, believe in Gandhism, caste system, belief system. Kanthapura is a small and traditional village with primitive structure of an Indian society divided, observed as handicapped entity cocooned from the rest of the world. The peoples of kanthapura, their thinking was orthodox minded and kanthhapura related with male dominated society. In kanthapura Gandhi is taken an ‘Avtar’ for freedom fighting, reform the culture and it is different things are used in some important part of culture, there are:- Social, Political, and Religious.
Kanthapura’s people are believed in caste system and they follow the rules, regulations of caste system, they believe in Untouchability. Kanthapura’s social background is related to orthodox mind set, narrow minded thinking, and caste system like, ‘Untouchability’. But Moorthy was not believed in untouchability, he was not following any type of untouchability.
Here Rao is talk about a typical village of south India. Rao written about how Gandhi struggle for independence from the British come to a south Indian village, kanthapura .
Social background of south Indian village in the novel, has a dormant patter to the treatment of caste and communities. Kanthapura, a tiny village’s representative of any other village in south India.
There are four divisions in caste:-
       • Brahmin
       • Pariahs 
       • Potter
       • Weaver.
In the story, young Moorthy, back from city with ‘new idea’  and new thinking cuts across the ancient barriers of caste to unite the peoples  of kanthapura in non-violent action, which is met with violence by landlords and police.
We can see the situation of Dalit, is very poor and other caste people’s behavior with them, untouchability and negative thinking. They follow the instruction of caste system. People of kanthapura have no rights for women and they also believed no education for specially girls. Kanthapura is a imaginative novel of Raja Rao, he shows that reality of the people of Indian village through kanthapura. Social background of Indian villages relflected in kanthapura.

• People of village can Kanthapura are very orthodox.
• People of Kanthapura are believed in superstitions.
• They are believed in mythology.
• They are not believed in reality.
• There are rights for women’s and no high position for girls.
• And they are believed in untouchability with low caste’s people.
               
             In this novel we find at levels of social that ultimately subsides giving way to urge for a free nation and we find cruel hierarchical mind set of the people. Whole village stratified hierarchical on the basis of caste creed and religion. We find the caste structure of the society that are:-  Brahmins streets, pariah quarter,  weavers colony. Potter’s community there are dormant patter of the treatment of castes and communities of kanthapura, the small village representative of any other village in south India.
> In this novel we find the different social culture like,
• Upper caste and lower class
• Versus master and slave relation
• Effect from the ruler and the ruled

People’s are   follows the rules of regulation of tradition rigidly they never accepted the one identity to forget first their caste and community.
For example,
“What happens to their old identity that they are definite by their castes and hierarchies in society when they begin identifying themselves with nation?.”
Brahmin hear Gandhi talking about mixing of castes, they offer a very strong resistance because of they find their old identities being consumed they thawed plot of nationalism here we looked on social point of view they are talk about their old identity of Brahmin. The novel reveals the sensibility of Raja Rao in his dealing with the issue of identity and cast.
“It may be easy to overcome one’s caste consciousness is reality difficult”
Through sanathana dharma and varnasram defined as idea of identity. The example how a oppression relieve another oppression here Rao written three types of oppression in deeply relative to social culture,

• The oppression of India by British
• The oppression of lower castes by upper classes
• The oppression of women by men

Social background of kanthapura we can find condition of Dalits and all women’s. In the kanthapura we can find the view of how women’s are oppressed by men and how British rules helps women and Dalit’s get freedom from the old age superstitions caste system and from orthodox thinking. We can see the lines..
“Education made a difference in the caste constructed society of India”
Raja Rao might have drawn inspiration for his fictional character of Rangamma from Rama in the novel.
“Mother of shakti is the symbol of power – the power to create and the power to destroy”
It is the privileges between men and women. it is not a question  of rights and women’s awareness of self in relation to social in political set up in village and society.
For Example,
“People who belong to upper caste who happens to play major roles in the committee”
Moorthy, is ex- communicated from his community close association with the dalits and he is given shelter by Rangamma.
 Freedom, this edition includes extensive notes on Indian myths, religion, customs, and the independence movement which fill out the background for the American reader’s more complete understanding and enjoyment.

Conclusion
Raja Rao written Kanthapura is one of the finest novel to out of mid-twentieth century in India it is story of how Gandhi’s struggle for independence from the British came to a typical village Kanthapura in south India. Young Moorthy Back from the city with “new Ideas” Cuts across the Ancient barriers of cast to unite the villagers in non-violent action which is met with violence by landlords and police. The dramatic tale unfolds in a poetic almost mythical style, which conveys as never before the rich text uses of rural and traditional life.
The narrator is an old woman named achakka’ embed with the legendary history of the region, who knows the past of all the characters and comments on their actions with sharp eyed wisdom. Raja Rao shows that over all culture or past age or old tradition, which are affected on use and these rules effect on us and so called old myths blind faith of upper castes peoples. And her narrator ad the way see tells it evokes the spirit of India’s traditional fake epics this edition includes extensive note on Indians myths religion social custom’s and the independence movements with feel out the background for the American readers more complete understanding and enjoyment.
The theme of Kanthapura may be summed up as “Gandhi and our village” but the style of Narration makes the books more a Gandhi Purana than a piece of mere fiction Gandhi is the invisible god moorthy is the visible avtar the reign of the rodmen in Asuric rule and it is resisted by the devdas the satygrahis the characters sharply divide into two camps: the rullers on the one hand and the satyagrahis on the other. There are various other divisions too. We can see in the novel Raja Rao written very beautifully and interesting in the novel all social issue is covered up.