A MISSIONARY OF THE INDIAN RENAISSANCE

DR. V. K. GOKAK

Professor and Director, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Simla

The passing away of Sri K. Ramakotiswara Rau signifies the end of a literary epoch. The Sahitya Academy and the Indian Branch of the P E N are now carrying on the work which Sri Rau strived to do single-handed at a time when no one cared for such a contribution and when resources were hard to come by. The publication of Triveni in the late twenties of the century had a great influence on the minds of young Indians. Pining to be read and heard by their countrymen, a number of gifted men used to write their poetry or their fiction or drama in English because, no one otherwise heeded either them or their poetry. This resulted in a great deal of waste and loss of authenticity because very few could use the English language with literary sensitiveness. One might almost say that it was not “respectable” to write in the regional language. The young ladies and gentlemen educated in English medium schools looked down upon regional languages as primitive or feudal media. When, therefore, Sri Rau came out with a Journal of the Indian Renaissance devoted almost entirely to presenting translations in English from modern regional writing, the first impact that the publications had on young writers was one of reassuring them that they were doing respectable work and that it could be presented in English for the delectation of an all-India reading public. Writers from all the linguistic regions in India discovered each other in the pages of the Triveni and found that they were doing similar work though unknown to each other. As a Journal of the Indian Renaissance, Triveni made the renaissance itself a tangible and concrete reality.

The Gandhian era brought in new life almost in every sphere of society in the twenties of this century. But the concept of an Indian literature, a literature that was one in spirit though written in many languages, had not yet been brought home to our people. This was the task that the spirit of the age entrusted to Sri K. Ramakotiswara Rao. Long before Madame Wadia struggled to establish the Indian P E N which brought together Indian men of letters and made them realise to their surprise how closely they resembled each other and much earlier than the establishment of Sahitya Akademi which made the promotion of Indian literature a ritual and a programme, Sri Ramakotiswara Rau wrought the miracle through the pages of the Triveni. The Triveni revealed the writers of one region to another, ended the period of isolation and defined Indian literature and illustrated it and distinguished it from Indo-Anglian writing which was only one branch of Indian literature. To thumb through the pages of the old volumes of the Triveni is to feel tangibly the impact of a glorious phase of the Indian Renaissance, the one in which it became conscious of itself.

I was one of the many writers who found a heart-easing outlet in the pages of the Triveni. I wrote in the Triveni about Sarvajna, the Peoples’ Poet, about the dream of the Geleyara Gumpu, a group of writers and friends in North Karnataka, and about D. R. Bendre and his poetry, apart from other occasional contributions. I owe the writing of the articles on the Gumpu and on the poetry of Bendre directly to Sri Rau himself. He persuaded me to write about the Gumpu and about Bendre. He must have persuaded several writers all over India to do similar things for the Triveni in the same way. Not only did he spot out talent; he harnessed it for specific purposes to the advantage of the writers and of the country itself.

It was in Poona that I met Sri Rau in the early thirties. He had come on a tour to contact writers from other regional areas and to popularize the Triveni. Dressed in an immaculate shirt and dhoti and an uparani on his left shoulder, he looked like a missionary of the epoch dominated by Gandhi and Tagore. I still remember his telling me after he called on Principal Rawlinson of Deccan College, Poona, about the latter’s reaction to Triveni. Principal Rawlinson was surprised to see the journal. He had never expected an English journal in India in such a fantastically obscure field as Indian writing in English translation to be printed and produced with such taste and elegance. He immediately sent for his colleague, Professor Woodhouse, and showed him the journal. Both were delighted with this literary venture.

Sri Rau was a crusader for the cause of Indian literature and he toiled hard in darkness to plant there the rays of light. He suffered for it in every way but would never give up. A motto that the Triveni carried for sometime was the quotation from the Gita, “Bring me thy failure.” But the “failure” was so noble that it achieved much more than many “successes” in the field. The Indian P E N and the Sahitya Academy took up this work either when it was break of day or broad daylight. But Sri Rau worked in the night that was darkest before dawn and covered himself with glory. To honour him and his memory is to honour the virgin enthusiasm of a noble soul.

I wish that, sooner rather than later, a young scholar takes up a research project on the Triveni and produces a biography of Sri Rau along with a detailed estimate of the contribution that he and the Triveni made to the progress of the Indian Renaissance. A university that will approve a project like the one suggested, for a Ph. D. Degree in Indian literary history, will honour itself while honouring the memory of Sri K. Ramakotiswara Rau.

SOPHIA WADIA

Editor, “The Indian P E N” Bombay

Indeed it was with deep grief that I learnt of the passing away of Sri Ramakotiswara Rau for whom I had the highest esteem and warmest friendship. While of late we were not in touch with each other I shall always cherish the memory of the many enjoyable and rewarding hours we spent together years ago when Sri Ramakotiswara Rau resided in Bangalore.

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