Comparative
literature means, “a study of similarities,(P. 111)” “studying all literatures,
with linguistic rigour and historical (P. 111)” comparison. It is to find
similarities between two or more incongruent text or characters to develop
bigger perspective than the mere criticism. We can compare folk or oral
literature, Diaspora and Dalit or Tribal literature with each other for maturity
of our thoughts, and this will be possible only through Comparative literature.
Indian poetics
has often been identified with Sanskrit which “distinguishes modern literature
from the literature of earlier periods (P.23).” Sanskrit was job of past and
the modern poets are in the hunt of Western theories. The escape of Indian
poetics from Sanskrit begins with the maturing of Indian Languages. Imagination
loose its grip as the modern Indian movements like Dalit writing, Women
writings, modern folk writings started in India. Now the literature is under
the impact English Russia, French and Germany.
The modern critics accept this impact and trying to re-read the text and
trying to represent the literature of dalits, Muslims, adivasis and women. These
re-reading writers force us to rethink about our society, ethics and aesthetics.
In this sense, modernism replaced the simile and the metaphor with symbolism
and realism.
Indian Novelist
are imitating the colonial model to construct a theory English Novel. The
essayist, Alfred Lopwz, tells feels “the arrival of the postcolonial in such an
array of non-aligned critiques of colonial cultural imperatives (P.83)”. To
understand the thematic structure of Indian Novel I am quoting the words of
character Jamie says:
Look into my face. My name is
Might-Have-Been
I’m also No More, Too Late, Farewell?
—O’Neill. Long Day’s Journey into Night. P. 148
I’m also No More, Too Late, Farewell?
—O’Neill. Long Day’s Journey into Night. P. 148
For it the novelist
first chooses a subject then he has to construct his plot whether artificial or
natural. In this sense, Premchand divided the novels into two
categories—Idealistic and realistic. He prefers “realistic Idealistic novel”
because when it is written to gain some social, political and religious aspects
it falls from its standard. Narayan based
the structure of novel on feudal social structure with Indian Rajas, and also
includes some myths, rivers and forests with topographical sceneries. Apart,
the theory of novel should reflect the multi layered reality of India but new
novel is only “metro novel” and have nothing to do with the lower and even
lowest classes and with their problems. All in all, there is no single theory
for Indian novel as they are written in different regional language. “Only
Indian Novel is considered to be post colonial by the academics”. (P.33)
The best
comparative literature comes if we compare feminist text. The Feminist writings
are discovering the past from women’s angle in male dominated society of India.
After independence a new enlightened middle class women is both subject and
object in Indian Literature. The use of body imagery, and emphasis on female
against the set norms are seen in current literature. Strom in Chandigarh, Heat and
Dust, Voices in the City, are only a hint of that.
Book defines
intercultural criticism with the sign words “I- Thou-I” and for Derrida its
meaning is “absence, critical emptiness (P. 41)” or they represents. Its
perfect example is Kipling’s 1901’s novel Kim
and herein hero asks Mahmood Ali, his friend and a horse rider, “What am I?
Mussalman, Hindu, Jain or Buddhist?” The criticism here presented is about
democratic trend with mixing of another culture as seen in A Passage to India (1924) by Forster. In the culture and intercultural connection
we come to know that characters are changing their religion for salvation which
never comes to them as to the heroine, Madeline, in Rao’s Serpent and the Rope, becomes Buddhist and asks her husband Rama to
marry an Indian girl, and this finally leads to divorce.
The literature
of a country remains incomplete if its local texture/ logical structure (term
by J.C. Ransom) is ignored, in this sense, tribal literature add literary
discussion in India. The language, folk-lore, ceremony, all are totally different that is why Henry
Reman observes:
Nowhere in the world is the present evolution of
comparative literature as dynamic and constructive as in India. (p. 172)
these societies had a sense of
pride for their cultures. The themes of native identity are their main concern.
Dalit, in doing the same in literature what the oral poet P.I. Sonkamble says:
When
we were tearing you were tearing us
Now we tear you while you tear. (The Cracked Mirror, P.22)
Now we tear you while you tear. (The Cracked Mirror, P.22)
In India, New Comparative
Literature not has deep roots. It is always in “War of position” among new
literature (p. 184). Need of the time is that “comparative study must come to
grips with ... its own methods of analysing ‘culture and ‘context’ in order to
construct literary histories.(p.189)” . In lack of it, as Charles Bernheimer
puts in “Comparative Literature in the
Age of Multicultural” (1988) comparative literature has nothing new to
offer.
Comparison gives
goods opportunity for judging how history contributes to modern knowledge. “The
merger of the two is the need of the time, and this approach is termed as
“Comparative Cultural Studies.” Indian literature of different languages offers
limited view of history in an underdeveloped manner. So a compendious
bibliography needs to be compiled. Communalism based comparative cannot help to
achieve international standard as Report of HRD Ministry of India, 2005, shows.
(P. 193-94)
Comparative
literature can be made strong with Interiorization (term by W.J.Ong). To judge
the interior side or images of factual non-fulfilment which lead to enriched
imaginative fulfilment of a literary text is called Interiorization. In Keats’ Ode on a Grecian Urn we have the lines
“Heard melodies are sweet but those unheard are sweeter” suggests the beauty
that eventually becomes truth not a fact of life but of literature. Again the
lover, who is eagerly hoping to kiss the lady remains unrealized but realised
possibly. For this reason songs are sung not “to the sensual ear,” but “to the
spirit.” Milton’s “On His Blindness”
is a protest against God’s blindness to human limitations but at the end
blindness is removed by thinking “they also serve who only stand and wait?” the poem is on whose
blindness: Milton the man, or Milton the poet, or Milton’s God, or Milton’s
reader? Similarly in “Paradise Lost”
begins with the intention of “justifying the ways of god to man” but it is
exposure of the unjustness of God to man.
Milton’s opposition of autocratic tendencies put him for a time of the
side of Satan, against God, thereby this declared intention “to justify God’s
ways.”
Comparative
literature have the power to compare cultural and intercultural discourse. In
the culture and intercultural connection we come to know that characters are
changing their religion for salvation which never comes to them as to the
heroine, Madeline, in Rao’s Serpent and
the Rope, becomes Buddhist and asks her husband Rama to marry an Indian
girl, and this finally leads to divorce. Here also East-West encounter is not
fulfilled and the question of ““present” or “absent” or both are replaced
unproblematically (p. 45).” Its perfect example is Kipling’s 1901’s novel Kim and herein Kim asks Mahmood Ali, his
friend and a horse rider, “What am I? Mussalman, Hindu, Jain or Buddhist?” here
Buber comments, Kim trying “willing to unwell or absent himself” by becoming
the “Chela” of Tibetan lama and to use the words of Derrida, Kim “suspends his
accomplishment or fulfilment of ‘desire or will’” by adopting Buddhism. The criticism here presented is about
democratic trend with mixing of another culture as seen in A Passage to India (1924) by Forster.
One crisis of
Indian Comparative Literature is that features of colonialism are still yet to
come. In “”New Literature,” the Dalit, the Gramin, Tribal and elitism etc are
hidden behind modernism. Vedic tradition of discouraging analysis and
comparison continues in different disguise. Perhaps this is main reason of the
weak development of Comparative Literature in India. On other hand, our Comparative
Literature is Euro-America-centric. The novel should reflect the multi layered
reality of India but new novel is only “metro novel”. It has nothing to do with
the lower and even lowest classes and with their problems. Indian literature of
different languages offers limited view of history. It is in underdeveloped
process. So a compendious bibliography needs to be compiled. Communalism based
comparative cannot help to achieve international standard as Report of HRD
Ministry of India, 2005, shows. (P. 193-94). It fails if it not shows local
topography. It must have the qualities to judge the interior side.
The Book Studies In Comparative Literature: Theory,
Culture And Space floods light on the different aspects of Comparative
literature: where it is strong and weak, how it can be more strong as compared to
the literature of America, Canada, Russia, England and China. The book also
suggests, for wider reorganization literature must include Qawwali, Gazal, or
Song as Salman Rushdie did in “The
Midnight’s Children” with the song “Mera Joota hai Japani” translated in
novel as “My Shoes are Japanese.” Indian
Veda must not be forgotten in this regard as each must compare Indian writings
with it. Indian comparative literature is literature of high order but only the
right comparative critics and criticism is the need of the hour. Some of the
best writers were kept out of comparative literature in lack of it, so a close
re-reading is strongly needed of the older texts like Pothery Kunhambu’s saraswativijayam (re-reading by Dalip
Menon); re-reading of Kalidasa’s Abhijnana
Sakuntalam by Romila Thapar’ re-reading of Chandu Menon writings by M.T.
Ansari; and of Kumaran Asan’s writings by
S. Saradakutty.
Based on Studies In Comparative Literature: Theory, Culture And Space
Edited
by
Jancy James
Chandra Mohan
Subha Chakraborthy Dasgupta
Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee
Jancy James
Chandra Mohan
Subha Chakraborthy Dasgupta
Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee
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