Raja Rao Essay Example

Raja Rao Essay Raja Rao From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search There are many people with the name Raja Rao. For instance, there might be an other raja rao with other famous accomplishments. Please do not consider this as though THIS Raja Rao is not famous but ther might be other famous people with the name. Please continue to read this article. Raja Rao (Kannada: ) (November 8, 1908 – July 8, 2006) was an Indian writer of English language novels and short stories, whose works are deeply rooted in Hinduism. Raja Raos semi-autobiographical novel, The Serpent and the Rope (1960), is a story of a search for spiritual truth in Europe and India. It established him as one of the finest Indian stylists. Contents[hide] * 1 Early life and career * 2 Nationalist Novelist * 3 Later years * 4 Notes * 5 Bibliography * 6 Web References * 7 External links| [edit] Early life and career Raja Rao was born on November 8, 1908 in Hassan, in the state of Mysore (now Karnataka) in South India, into a well-known Brahmin (Hoysala Karnataka) family. He was the eldest of nine siblings two brothers and seven sisters. His native language was Kannada, but his post-graduate education was in France, and all his publications in book form have been in English. His father taught Kannada at Nizams College in what was then Hyderabad State. The death of his mother, when he was four, left a lasting impression on the novelist the absence of a mother and orphanhood are recurring themes in his work . Another influence from early life was his grandfather, with whom he stayed in Hassan and Harihalli. Rao was educated at Muslim schools, the Madarsa-e-Aliya in Hyderabad and the Aligarh Muslim University, where he became friends with Ahmed Ali. We will write a custom essay sample on Raja Rao specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Raja Rao specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Raja Rao specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer He began learning French at the University. After matriculation in 1927, Rao returned to Hyderabad and studied for his degree at Nizams College. After graduation from Madras University, having majored in English and History, he won the Asiatic Scholarship of the Government of Hyderabad in 1929, for study abroad. Rao moved to the University of Montpellier in France. He studied French language and literature, and later at the Sorbonne in Paris, he explored the Indian influence on Irish literature. He married Camille Mouly, who taught French at Montpellier, in 1931. The marriage lasted until 1939. Later he depicted the breakdown of their marriage in The Serpent and the Rope. Rao published his first stories in French and English. During 1931-32 he contributed four articles written in Kannada for Jaya Karnataka, an influential journal. [edit] Nationalist Novelist Returning to India in 1939, he edited with Iqbal Singh, Changing India, an anthology of modern Indian thought from Ram Mohan Roy to Jawaharlal Nehru. He participated in the Quit India Movement of 1942. In 1943-1944 he coedited with Ahmed Ali a journal from Bombay called Tomorrow. He was the prime mover in the formation of a cultural organization, Sri Vidya Samiti, devoted to reviving the values of ancient Indian civilization; this organization failed shortly after inception. In Bombay, he was also associated with Chetana, a cultural society for the propagation of Indian thought and values. Raos involvement in the nationalist movement is reflected in his first two books. The novel Kanthapura (1938) was an account of the impact of Gandhis teaching on non-violent resistance against the British. The story is seen from the perspective of a small Mysore village in South India. Rao borrows the style and structure from Indian vernacular tales and folk-epic. Rao returned to the theme of Gandhism in the short story collection The Cow of the Barricades (1947). In 1998 he published Gandhis biography Great Indian Way: A Life of Mahatma Gandhi. In 1988 he received the prestigious International Neustadt Prize for Literature. The Serpent and the Rope was written after a long silence during which Rao returned to India. The work dramatized the relationships between Indian and Western culture. The serpent in the title refers to illusion and the rope to reality. 1] Cat and Shakespeare (1965) was a metaphysical comedy that answered philosophical questions posed in the earlier novels. [edit] Later years Rao relocated to the United States and taught at the University of Texas at Austin from 1966 to 1983, when he retired as Emeritus Professor. Courses he taught included Marxism to Gandhism, Mahayana Buddhism, Indian philosophy: The Upanishads, Indian philosophy: The Metaphy sical Basis of the Male and Female Principle. In 1965, he married Katherine Jones, an American stage actress. They have one son, Christopher Rama. In 1986, after his divorce rom Katherine, Rao married his third wife, Susan, whom he met when she was a student at the University of Texas in the 1970s. Rao died on July 8, 2006 at Austin, Texas, at the age of 97. [2] [3] [4] USE OF INDIAN SENSIBILITY IN RAJA RAOS NOVEL: Indian Method of Story-telling: The method of describing of the novel is characteristically Indian. The Indian grandmother can be considered to be the earliest and most typical of story tellers. Achkka is the storyteller of the novel, who is just like a grandmother. She tells the story to every new comer to Kanthapura. According to Raja Rao, â€Å"Achakka’s exceedingly long sentences, use of blanks, and expressions like ‘this’ and ‘that’, ‘here and there’ are meaningful. She gives us complete character-sketch of Sankar, Bhatt and Rangamma. They are very much informative, as well as vital for the narrative. In this way, one episode leads to another, and so the tale tends to be interminably long. This also makes the narration episodic. There are so many episodes in the novel. Thus, the narration is characterized by verbosity and garrulity, which are the features of the Indian folklore. Raja Rao wanted to stress this admired tradition. As a result he didn’t feel it necessary to divide the novel into chapters. In his Foreword to Kanthapura Raja Rao clarifies that the novel is to be judged with reference to the conventional Indian tradition and not with reference to Western methods of story-telling and theories and of the novel writing. Use of Religion: Indian philosophy is basically religious and even politics is also spiritualized in India. India’s so many prominent social reformers and political leaders were great religious figures. In India, communal and political goals have been attained with the help of spiritual activities. The same thing happens in the novel, in the case of Gandhi and his freedom struggle. According to a Narsimhaiah, â€Å"there are at least three strands of experience in the novel: the political, the religious and the social. † To the uneducated villagers, Kenchamma is a kind and helpful goddess. Their attitude is extremely religious. As the story progresses the three threads of experience become one: the religious, social and political issues become one and the same. Theme of Shakti Worship: Shakti-worship is a basically Indian theme and it is present throughout the novel. In this Gandhian freedom struggle, the ladies of the Kanthapura play a key role. The author has painted them as energetic forms of Shakti. It can be said that Indian women are solid as rock, and they can easily bear the pain. Shakti(energy) rises in them, and each of them is inspired at a particular time. One noticeable thing in the novel is that in the last phase of nonviolent struggle, it is a lady named Ratna, who takes over from Moorthy and leads the movement. Use of Indian similes, maxims and Idioms: Raja Rao is master in using Indian similes, proverbs and idioms in his writing. He uses Indian maxims and similes to create an awareness of peasants. In most of his works, he hadn’t used â€Å"Babu English†. He makes use of English words according to his demands. The language of the novel is flooded with the Indian phrases, Indian similes and rustic color. You can find so many sentences in the novel that are exactly translated from Kannada into English. Sometimes, there is breaking up of the English syntax to express emotional disturbances and feelings. Many words are taken from local Indian languages. The author has used them ‘as they are’. He didn’t feel it necessary to translate them into English. In the novel, you can get words likeAhimsa, Dhoti, Harikatha, Mandap etc. Raja Rao has repeatedly used village proverbs, and folklores according to his requirement. For example, (1) Every squirrel has his day, (2) our hearts beat like the wings of bats, (3) and yet he was as honest as an elephant, (4) the youngest is always the holy bull, (5) does a boar stand before a lion or a jackal before an elephant? Likewise, you can find so many proverbs and sayings from the language of illiterate people in the novel. For example: (1) The policemen are not your uncle’s sons, (2) the first daughter milks the cow when the mother is ill, (3) saw you like a rat on your mother’s lap, (4) there is neither man nor mosquito in Kanthapura (5) you cannot straighten a dog’s tail, (6) land, lust and wifely loyalty go badly together. Sometimes Raja Rao doesn’t hesitate to use a rude and offensive language of the villagers. He uses this type of language when it is necessary. Though, his use of this type of language is more controlled and sensible. [edit] Notes 1. Nobel laureate Czeslaw Milosz published his only poem in the English language for Raja Rao. 2. He was awarded Indias third highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan in 1969. 3. A new novel, Daughter of the Mountain, is to be published in 2008. 4. In January 2007, it was announced that Raja Rao has been selected to receive the Padma Vibhushan Indias second highest civilian award. edit] Bibliography Fiction * Kanthapura, 1938 (reprint ISBN 0-8371-9573-X) * The Cow of the Barricades, and Other Stories, 1947 * The Serpent and the Rope, 1960 (ISBN 0-87951-220-2; reprint ISBN 0-8371-8437-1) * The Cat and Shakespeare  : A Tale of India, 1965 * Comrade Kirilov, 1976 * The Policeman and the Rose: Stories, 1978 * The Chessmaster and His Moves, 1988 (ISBN 81-7094-021-4) * On the Ganga Ghat, 1989 (ISBN 81-7094-050-8) * The Best of Raja Rao, 1998 (ISBN 81-855 86-81-0) Non-Fiction Changing India: An Anthology (edited with Iqbal Singh), 1939 * Whither India? (edited with Iqbal Singh), 1948 * The Meaning of India essays, 1996 (ISBN 81-7094-257-8) * The Great Indian Way: A Life of Mahatma Gandhi biography, 1998 (ISBN 81-7094-308-6) * Tomorrow, co-edited with Ahmed Ali, Bombay, 1943-44. Upcoming Work * Daughter of the Mountain (Volume 2 of the Chessmaster trilogy) to be published in 2008. * A Myrobalan in the Palm of Your Hand (Volume 3 of the Chessmaster trilogy).