Bengali Literature–By Annada Sankar and Lila Ray, with an Introduction by Babu Ramananda Chatterji. (Published for the P.E.N. All-India Centre by the International Book House, Ltd., Bombay. Pages 126. Price Rs. 2.)

The P.E.N. All-India Centre under the able leadership of Mrs. Sophia Wadia is to be congratulated on the laudable enterprise of publishing popular treatises on the different literatures of India. Now when parochialism is rampant in the various fields of our national life, this endeavour is sure to salve the much lacerated spirit of Mother India. Literature, perhaps, is the finest efflorescence of a nation’s culture, after religion, and is also the strongest bond of ethnic solidarity after that of religion. So it will be a singular national service to engender sympathy and understanding among the various linguistic areas and literary interests as the P.E.N. series proposes and hopes to do.

The book under review is the second of the series which will comprise of fifteen volumes in all. It deals with Bengali Literature, which is of comparatively recent development and which yet is one of the richest of Indian literatures. The book is from the joint pen of Annada Sankar Ray and Lila Ray. Mr. Ray is a well-known figure in the field of Bengali literature as a novelist, poet and essayist of eminence. His "Pathi Prabase" is one of the most charming books of travels in Bengali.

The book under review is divided into three parts: (1) Old Bengali literature, (2) New Bengali literature, and (3) Anthology. The book is written in a delightful and perspicuous style, and considerable insight and power of penetration have been displayed in the treatment of the subject matter. It will fulfil admirably the purpose of those who want to get a bird’s-eye-view of Bengali literature. The writer has been able to conjure up very vividly the personalities of the different authors in a few sentences and has tried to put forward their literary characteristics very pithily. Yet, the scope and extent of Bengali literature is vast and to compress the survey of the whole of it into 126 pages is nearly an impossible task. Naturally, the work leaves in one the sense of scrappiness and inadequacy. Except in very few places the book has become merely a catalogue of names. But this has been unavoidable owing to the exigencies of space. The anthology contains translations which are gracefully done and yet, owing to limitation of space, it also suffers from meagreness.

Another drawback from which the book suffers is its avoidance of all attempts at appraisal of different authors. Of course, this is always a matter of controversy and is invariably attended with some odium. But without this it cannot hope to be a guide to the non-Bengali readers, all of whom cannot go to the source books and form judgments for themselves.

The author’s interpretation of spiritual symbols and religious movements has been at times too sweeping and lacking in precision. He sees in Kali-worship in Bengal the worship of nature in her fury. This is a quasi-scholarly view and ought not to have been given credence to in a scholarly work. For the genesis of Kali-worship we must go to the Tantras, where attempts were made to synthesize Vedanta and Sankhya and other systems of Indian thought, the endeavour culminating in the Shakti cult.

Similarly, to say that the Chaitanya movement caused "consternation in the dovecots of orthodoxy" is not to say the whole story. Of course, the Chaitanya movement scandalised certain sections of orthodoxy by its liberalism; yet there were sections which supported the movement whole-heartedly as it brought deliverance to Hindu society from the aggressiveness of Mahommedanism. This is why even now in spite of their apostacy from orthodoxy the Bengali Vaishnavas occupy a rather high place in the Bengal social hierarchy.

Some minor inaccuracies have crept into the book. About Chaitanya it has been said: "Those who came to abuse him and who shed his blood by throwing broken pots at him," etc. But broken pots were hurled not at Chaitanya but at Nityananda by Jogai Madhai. The name of ‘Kaliprasanna Sinha’s humorous book has been transliterated as ‘Hutom Pachar Naksha’. But it should be ‘Hutom Panchar’ (or) ‘Pyanchar Naksha’. The title of one of Rabindranath’s famous works, ‘Balaka’, has been translated as the ‘Swan’. But the word Balaka really means the crane. There are other minor inaccuracies here and there and we hope in the next edition of the book they will be corrected.

But when all this is said and done the interest of the book remains unabated. It is an engagingly readable book. And it will serve beautifully the purposes of a guide to Bengali literature. We recommend the book to all lovers of literature. The book contains a modest bibliography. The printing and get-up of the book is tasteful.

PRAJNA CHAITANYA

History and Philosophy of Lingayat Religion–(being an introduction to ‘Lingadharanchandrika’ of Nandikeshwar)–with translation and full notes by M. R. Sakhare, M.A., T.D. (Cantab.), Professor of Sanskrit and Education, Lingraj College, Belgaum. (Demy size, pages 682 + 76 + 104 + 250 + 20. Price Rs. 15.)

We congratulate Prof. Sakhare on the publication of ‘Lingadharanchandrika’ of Nandikeshwar, a work that was so long ignored by the educated, both Lingayats and non-Lingayats–with translation and copious notes for the use of the public, Indian and foreign. In publishing this book, he takes an opportunity to give a lucid idea about the Lingayat Religion and its philosophy. In doing so, he has surveyed the different Shaiva cults and has tackled their sources from the Vedic literature to the Puranic one. It is needless to add that he has amply touched the ‘Vachana’ literature in Kannada.

Perhaps, no other religion in the world has suffered so much from oblivion as Lingayatism. Prof. Sakhare’s book, the first of its kind, purports to throw an illuminating light on the many controversial points connected with this forgotten religion and attempts to re-evaluate its status as an independent religion by itself. The author, himself a devout Lingayat, is so much imbued with the spirit of his religion that, on occasions, he is overwhelmed with a tinge of dogmatism which is, however, diluted with an amusing sense of humour. In a way, the author has the credit of having done a colossal work on the Lingayat Religion–a work that needed profound patience, indefatigable and strenuous labour in the compilation of material, ingenuity in selecting it, and a clear sighted peep into the historic and prehistoric periods of Indian Civilization.

The idea of the deity at the bottom of the Universe created, protected and reabsorbed by the deity, serving as a common ground both for Shaivism and Veerashaivism is well worked out. Chapters dealing with Dravidian and Aryan civilization, the practice and philosophy of Lingayat Religion and Shivayoga provide an abundant fund of interesting information.

The greatest service that the author has done by writing this book, however, seems to me to be of a religious nature. He has successfully attempted to explain the real nature of Lingayat Religion and to dispel the wrong notions that are associated with it. He has best repudiated the vain and base charges that are leveled against ‘linga’, which unfortunately has often been looked upon as the phallic emblem of ‘Shiva’. He has shown that it is free from any such immorality or indecency. "The Lingayats", he maintains, bring the individual soul (ang) into close relationship with Shiva in the form of linga."

Above all, the author, in the heat of enthusiasm for his religion, has attempted to prove that Lingayatism, although derived from Hinduism or the Vedas, is a separate religion by itself as much as Jainism or Buddhism is. The author’s arguments, although mostly negative, are full of transparent sincerity and spiritual fervour, which lend them an air of truth and reality. He has also attempted to prove that Basava was the founder of Lingayat Religion. In doing so, he has collected all the data he could lay hands on. His tribute to Basava as ‘the torch-bearer enkindling light and love among masses’ is both apt and suggestive.

The author’s method of summarising entire chapters in a clear language renders the book well within the reach of an average reader. The translation, for the most part, is literary; but the notes and explanations are copious in their extensiveness and kaleidoscopic in their interest.

The book deserves close attention in so far as a new vista of a forgotten religion is opened before us, with all the wealth of a rare insight into the past which can only be dimly surmised. The style of the book is mostly simple and lucid; vehement and trenchant on occasions, but seldom, if ever, does it rise to the poetic grandeur of sublimity.

It would have been very much better if an index had been given at the end of the book. The introduction seems to be disproportionately long. The publisher could have curtailed it had he intended to do so. We shall look forward to a few more publications on the Lingayat Religion and philosophy from such eminent authors as Prof. Sakhare. We hope that the public will appreciate the merits of his book and acknowledge the immense services he has rendered towards a great, yet neglected cause.

S. L. KHOT, M.A

Kashmir: The Playground of Asia–By Sachchidananda Sinha. (Published by Ram Narain Lal, Allahabad. Price Rs. 3-8-0. 1942.)

This helpful book is what its sub-title appropriately says, a hand-book for visitors to the Happy Valley. The name of the author amply vouches for the quality of the book; and, besides, it is dedicated to the sacred memory of one of the greatest sons of Kashmir, and one of the foremost in modern India, namely, Pandit Motilal Nehru. Apart altogether from the intrinsic claims of the subject itself on public attention, these facts should prove additional attractions.

At the beginning of the Foreword, Dr. S. Sinha explains his undertaking by pointing out how "almost all the guide-books or hand-books to Kashmir, which are now available to the prospective traveler, are either more or less out of date, and do not give the latest practical information, when a trip is being planned, or are short and snipety, and do not give adequate details." He divides the book into five parts: (a) introductory and informative, (b) practical and statistical, (c) descriptive and reflective, (d) referential and tabular, (e) bibliographical. There can be no doubt that travelers to Kashmir will find the book invaluable. And if their interest in the Happy Valley is more than that of the ordinary tourist, they will find ample guidance for detailed study and appreciation in the bibliography forming the fifth part of the book. A large number of good photographs add to its value.

Very few Indians are perhaps so well qualified as Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha to write of Kashmir with such authority, discernment, and appreciation of the average tourist’s view-point.

S. P. S.

Studies in Philosophy–By M. A. Venkata Row, Asst. Professor of Philosophy, Maharani’s College. (Published by the Author, Bangalore City. Pp 246. 1942. Rs 5 or 7sh. 6d.)

Mr. Venkata Row has done well in bringing out his different articles on Philosophy in a permanent book form. There are no less than 13 essays, and they stretch over a period of a dozen Years (1929-1941). They are varied in character and interesting. Six of them treat of Karma, a most fundamental principle of Indian philosophy and uphold it against the criticisms of the West. And Mr. Venkata Row has served the cause of philosophy very ably by holding up the closely allied principle of Reincarnation against the Western fondness for mere Immortality. It is pointed out, for instance, with admirable tact that modem Western philosophers like Drs. James Ward and Metaggart call for the principle of many lives, as against interested thinkers like Pringle Pattison and A. E. Taylor, who are so much lost in the love of their own Christianity as not, to see any great value in this eastern principle. Similarly, the criticism of Kant’s three postulates of morality, freedom, immortality and God, as needing to be supplemented by those of Karma and Reincarnation, is effectively argued; and the study of Reason and Revelation from the standpoints of eastern and western religion and philosophy is a valuable contribution.

Three essays treat of aesthetics, and bring out some of the most salient features of Indian aesthetics, like ‘Rasa’ and Dhvani or appreciation (p. 235) and suggestion. The sketch of Avastatraya, or the three states of mind, waking, dreaming and sleep as a leading principle of Vedantic philosophy and method, though somewhat brief, is yet a useful study. Of the other essays, the first one on Time and Eternity will be found useful by post-graduate students as a good review and synopsis of the problem up to the date of publication, 1929; and the other one on "The notion of Difference in Dvaita" is interesting as an expression of the author’s own trend of thought and belief.

After getting so much of good and useful thought within so short a compass (as 246 pages), it might look ungrateful to wish that some of the subjects had been given fuller treatment.

The author wields a facile pen and his presentation is thought provoking and stimulating. The price of the book (Rs.5) is somewhat high-pitched for the Indian reader.

N. S.

Sri Aurobindo Mandir Annual [Published on the occasion of the 70th Birthday of Sri Aurobindo (15-8-1942), by Sri Aurobindo Patha Mandir, Calcutta. Price Rs. 3-8.]

Sri Aurobindo’s teachings and message have profound significance as at once a masterly and magnificent presentation of ancient Indian wisdom and a challenging metaphysical contribution, both as speculation and as sadhana. It must be admitted, however, that the appeal of Sri Aurobindo’s writings has been limited to but a small number, the cultured and philosophical elite of India and abroad. Any work, like the one under review, which may make the thoughts of Sri Aurobindo better known to the world is therefore welcome.

The Annual opens with three poems by ‘Arjava’, Amal Kiran and Dilip. Then follow eleven articles which give brief and illuminating studies of Sri Aurobindo’s teachings under different heads. "Our Ideal" by Nolinikanta Gupta, "Divine Evolution" by Dr. K. C. Varadachari and "Towards A New World" by sisirkumar Mitra give in general terms an appraisal of the message of Sri Aurobindo and an exposition of his chief metaphysical ideas. To students of Indian philosophy, Dr. Mahendra Nath Sircar’s "Sri Aurobindo and Mayabad", Sri Anilbaran Roy’s "Sri Aurobindo and the Gita", Sri Birendra kishore Roy Chowdhury’s "Sri Aurobindo and the Tantra" and Sri V. Chandrasekharam’s "Sri Aurobindo and the Veda" provide valuable material to arrive at an estimate of Sri Aurobindo’s special contribution to philosophical thought and interpretation in a comparative setting. Dr. S. K. Maitra’s, "Sri Aurobindo and Bergson" shows how Sri Aurobindo is "a more uncompromising opponent of all respectability and convention and an even greater volcanic thinker" than Bergson himself Prof. Haridas Chaudhury’s "The Supermind in Sri Aurobindo’s Philosophy" is an illuminating psychological study, which gives valuable guidance to the understanding of the philosophical method and specific terminology adopted by Sri Aurobindo, Sri K. D. Sethna’s, "Sri Aurobindo–Poet of Yoga" is literary criticism touched with spiritual rapture in estimating one whose vision ‘is a revelatory process’ and ‘whose poems burn in an aura of beatitude’.

The volume is sumptuously got up and leaves nothing to be desired in the matter of printing and binding.

KASYAPA

ENGLISH

Last Corner–By Littleman of "Bombay Sentinel" Foreword by B. G Horniman. (Published by the United India Publications. Pp.132. Price 12 as.)

This is the first book of the series containing a reprint of ‘Little Man’s’ jottings to the "Bombay Sentinel" covering a wide and varied field. The avowed object of the writer is to fight for principles, for liberty, for fairplay, for justice. The writer has kept this ideal prominently in view by bringing up the grievances and wrongs of other little men. He states his points with precision and his views without any malice or anger whenever he mentions instances of one rule for the big ones and another for small men. He is blessed with a rich sense of humour which disarms opponents and his wit is keen and flashing. What is the use of secreting maps, asks the little man, which were printed in the enemy country itself? The general of a retreating army, points out the author, can hardly feel proud of his athletic record for running the mile. To run race specials in spite of calling them ‘duplicates’, and do propaganda for ‘travel when you must’ is another instance of official consistency! There are many good stories and lively incidents recorded, which not merely amuse but also set one thinking. Mr. B. G. Horniman in an encouraging Foreword introduces his protege, the Little Man; an encouragement, indeed well deserved.

C. R. S.

We Cover Life–By Latie K. Panjabi, G. S. Kalyanpur and Khoosie L. Panjabi; with a Foreword by D. F. Karaka. (United India Publications, Bombay. Pp. xii + 84. Price 8 as.)

This book is the second of the series containing four short stories and six sketches of general interest. The stories have as their main theme the hardships of Indian women married early. The plot and the characterisation lack, in consequence, variety and interest, though the moral that love and not lucre should be the motive of marriage has been well brought out. The pan chewer who indulges "in promiscuous spitting, the song enthusiast in the Talkie house who insists on singing along with the ‘stars’, the snobbish motorist who drives about under the conviction that the pedestrian is a trespasser on the roads and the radio and gramophone enthusiasts who totally ignore the fact that their neighbours sleep–these are some of the interesting sketches provided in "Indian National Bloodshed Un-Ltd." An article on the practice of black magic on the West Coast and a gruesome account of an initiation ceremony may be of special interest to psychic researchers. Another article gives a good account of the life of the Bombay gharrywallah and his social, economic and political conditions. "Inside the Student World" reveals how the pernicious effect of the communal virus has infected even the student world.

Subhas Bose is the subject of a sketch describing a fortnight’s tour in Gujerat. Dogs have many achievements to their credit but none of that tribe can ever hope to beat the record of that starved and sickly puppy which was the effective cause of bringing about a much coveted interview with Mahatma Gandhi! Giving an account of his first blossoming as an author, and his reactions on the memorable occasion, Mr. D. F. Karaka writes a very encouraging Foreword, which will not only hearten the authors of this book but all those who have literary or journalistic ambitions.

C. R. S

KANNADA

Hari Dasara Kritigalu (with Musical Notation)–By Vainika Vidwan L. Raja Rao. (Karnataka Sahitya Parishat Press, Bangalore City. Pages 125. Price 12 as.)

This is the first attempt in Kannada at rendering the famous compositions (popularly known as Devaranamas) of Sri Purandara Das and other Haridasas into the style of classical, songs with proper notation. As the author himself rightly says, the Ragas and Thalas which he has chosen for these songs in the book, may not be taken to have been specified ones; for nobody can authoritatively say in regard to these Devaranamas that they should be sung only in a particular way. As they are in vogue today, several of them are either sung in only one Raga and Thala, thereby creating monotony, or without any particular tune at all that could come strictly within the range of any particular Raga or Thala. Mr. Raja Rao’s attempt to give these songs the shape of a classical style will be welcomed by all music lovers. Many of these Devaranamas are beautiful and can be sung with a high degree of artistic skill. It may be that they are not characterised by the rigidity of Raga and Thala that one finds in Sri Thyagaraja’s or Deekshitar’s Compositions. This does not, however, warrant their being classed as an inferior type. Truly speaking, Devaranamas should be handled by musicians with a high level of artistic attainment combining a proper knowledge of Sahitya with heartfelt devotion; for the Sahitya of these compositions is so nicely and appropriately woven into fine music that it is only the gifted singers who can blend the devotional and aesthetic qualities in them with supreme effect. Since the special characteristic of Devaranamas is simplicity both of music and language, they make a direct appeal to the heart. It is gratifying that the author of this book has not introduced unnecessary complexities in giving a new musical form to these compositions. It will enable even average students of music to learn these songs by themselves with the help of the notation provided, which has been rendered as flawless as possible. The author will be well rewarded for his labours if only music teachers giving tuitions and musicians of repute giving performances would use these songs in greater measure.

Sangita Vidwan D. SUBBARAMAIYA.

Bharamappana Bhuta–By Sriranga. (Published by the Manohara Grantha Prakashana Samiti, Dharwar. Crown 8 vo. Pp. 118. Price 14 as.)

This is a detective novel in Kannada of the type that is latest in English fiction. The author shows considerable skill in carrying on the narrative and depicting character through conversation. He writes a concise and crisp style, though his odd mixture of literary and colloquial forms of word and phrase is sometimes trying.

A claim has been suggested in the Preface that this is the first detective novel appearing in Kannada, which is hardly tenable–considering Choragrahana Tantra written and published about forty years ago by the late G.O.M. of Mysore, M. Venkatakrishnaiya, and a series of stories–Pattedari Kathegalu–by that versatile writer in Kannada, Balasaraswathi, have been popular detective stories.

A certain measure of improbability is unavoidable in fiction but too much of a demand on the reader’s credulity condemns the story as improbable and, in the case of detective fiction, renders it highly artificial. The story of this book might pass as readable in the crime fiction being published in England and America. But a murder of the type described in the story is almost impossible in our country. The story hinges on a concave mirror fixed on to a piece of cardboard which could be rolled up and concealed in one’s hand. The reader is expected to believe that the young criminal sat usually in his own room, not in dishabille, but with a cap on to bear out a trick later on. One wonders why the heroine has not been made a courtesan, which would have acclimatised the story to some extent, instead of her being made up into a doubtful heroine of illicit love.

A detective story has of necessity to be highly artificial, and it is only a small percentage of detective fiction that negotiates the border and enters the domain of literature. The wild and prodigious growth of such fiction in the West may not be a healthy sign at all. If one should write detective stories in our country, one might do worse than choose stories of the type of Dr. Thorndyke, for instance, for adaptation. The solid fact that the average reader of Kannada books is not a sophisticated and intellectualised specimen of the human race may never be ignored.

K. K.

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