REVIEWS
The
Future Poetry by Sri Aurobindo.
{Published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram,
This
is practically a reprint, in book form, of a series of articles which appeared
in the Arya from October 15, 1917 to
July 15, 1920. Of the various articles contributed by Sri Aurobindo serially to
that celebrated Journal, this is the latest to be published in book form,– The
Life Divine, Synthesis of Yoga, Essays on the Gita etc., having received
that honour much earlier. Literary criticism,
especially the theory of poetry, appeals to a very limited circle of readers,
and that perhaps accounts for the delay in publishing these valuable utterances
of the Master on Poetry and Future Poetry.
It
is all the more welcome and precious to students of poetry literary criticism,
aesthetic theory, and future trends in poetry. Sri Aurobindo is such a highly
evolved and perfectly integrated personality, endowed with a many sided and
puissant genius, that his treatment of this subject
also is organically connected with the fundamental tenets of his philosophy,
and it is therefore bound to be of considerable interest to his
disciples and admirers, even if they are not specialist students of poetry.
The
introductory chapter itself reveals the interesting origin and inspiration of
the book. It was New Ways in English Literature by Dr. James H. Cousins
(published in 1917) which suggested to Sri Aurobindo, for the thorough and
comprehensive consideration of his original and scholarly mind, the whole
question of the Future of Poetry in the age which is coming upon us, the higher
functions open to it–as yet very imperfectly fulfilled–and the part which
English Literature on the one side and the Indian mind and temperament on the
other are likely to take. In determining the new trends.
Dr. Cousins had traced briefly the new ways in theme, technique, and
inspiration in recent English poetry, and confined his attention to poets like
Whitman, Emerson, Meredith, Stephen Phillips, Carpenter, Yeats,
‘A.E'., and Tagore and to the new spirit revealed in their work. Sri Aurobindo
takes the impression created on him by Dr. Cousins
tiny volume for a starting point, and the trend of English poetry for his text.
But extending his vision to the remote beginnings of the stream of English
poetry, Sri Aurobindo essays to sound what the future has to give as through
the medium of the poetic mind and its power of creation and interpretation.
With his wide scholarship and intimate acquaintance with the work of the great
poets of English, Latin, Greek and Sanskrit literature and the eagle eye of his
Master-mind, he could not fail to take within his sweep almost the entire range
of world literature of any significance and influence, and to arrive at a
cogent theory of the nature and function as well as the future of poetry in the
course of this survey.
To
sneer at the publication as “an act of uncritical piety”–as a reviewer in a
Madras Daily has done–and to allege that “the volume is made up of three
separate books rolled into one” is hardly fair to the Author or the Publishers
and betrays cursory reading and uncritical reviewing. The second portion of the
book, which forms the bulk of it, reviewing the entire history of English
poetry from the point of view of its pregnant seeds in the dim beginnings and
gradual evolution, through progressive manifestation of spiritual tendencies,
towards the brilliant future which it promises, is no “familiar or text-book
material” but a refreshing and illuminating reassessment and original
appreciation of the great English poets of the different ages and their
contribution to its glorious future. This part serves to illustrate and explain
the original views of the great Author on the differentia of poetry as a
literary form, to which the first part of 50 pages is devoted, as well as to
impress on the reader the convincing logic behind the seer’s forecast of the
trends of Future Poetry, elaborated in the last 150 pages. The main thesis of
the original conception of poetry as Mantra (the word of power which
reveals), the masterly discussion incidentally of the various problems of Western
and Eastern literary criticism, the varied illustrations of the numerous
critical questions with reference to European and Sanskrit literatures, are all
what we should expect from the great Master and from none else. The volume
constitutes a valuable contribution to the evolution of a common world culture
and a powerful means for the promotion of international understanding and
constructive co-operation between the East and the West.
This
contribution of Sri Aurobindo to Literary Criticism and the Theory of Poetry is
no less original and no less valuable than his more well-known contributions to
human civilisation and world culture in the other fields of religion,
philosophy, and Yoga. It requires, as every classic requires, diligent and
careful annotation by specialists in the field, before it can be brought within
the range of comprehension of the general reader and layman.
Such work of critical piety must be undertaken in a spirit of gratitude and
reverence by the most competent among his disciples.
Report
of the Secondary Education Commission (1952-53) (Published
by the Ministry of Education, Government of
Adverse
criticism and downright condemnation of the system of education prevailing
under the auspices of an alien Government, were marked
features of public life in
There
is nothing very profound in the analysis of the existing system, and nothing
very original or novel in the recommendations and suggestions to be found in
this Report. And yet, the hopeful outlook, the realistic approach, the modest
ambition, the cautious recommendations, the tone and temper of earnest endeavour at practical usefulness, and the engaging
persuasiveness of the Report render it eminently readable and useful.
The
authors rightly stress, at the outset, the great importance of reform and
improvement in the Secondary stage of education for the efficient work of the
Elementary stage as well as for proper standards in the University stage and
for the rapid progress and prosperity of the country in every sphere of
national reconstruction in general. But they are at the same time conscious of
the futility of such reports by themselves, unless they are followed up by
earnest and sustained effort to implement the suggestions and recommendations
therein. They rightly envisage the setting up in the immediate future
of State Committees to examine their recommendations in
detail in the light of the local conditions and needs in which there is
unfortunately a wide range of disparity and diversity in our vast country. They
contemplate also the preparation, by the State Governments, of detailed plans
five or ten-year plans) of reform and improvement.
They
postulate at the same time effective co-ordination of the action in the
States, and generous aid from the Centre whenever
necessary, to enable the speedy execution of the programmes and the
achievement of a satisfactory level of progress all over the country.
Some
of the recommendations of the Commission, especially those relating to the
duration of the Secondary education course, and the language policy and the
medium of instruction, require to be considered and decided upon at the
all-India level for uniform adoption throughout the country. They recommend the
extension of the Secondary course by the addition to it of one year of
the present Intermediate course and, as a consequence, the abolition of the
Intermediate course and the institution of a three-year degree course at the
University stage. They recommend the gradual adoption of the regional language
as the medium of instruction and the compulsory study of Hindi, the national
language, and English, the international language. In such matters uniformity
is essential, and it is for the Central Government to decide and give
the right lead.
They
stress the need for the institution of diversified and vocational courses in
Secondary schools and the establishment of adequate numbers of agricultural and
industrial educational institutions at the Secondary stage. The implementation
of these suggestions involves large expenditure which can be incurred, they
admit, only by the Governments at the Centre and in
the States.
But
the Commission also rightly emphasise the importance
of the teacher in any scheme of educational reconstruction and the need for
improving his lot in salary, security, status, conditions of service, and
effective voice in the nature and conditions of his work, and recommend early
efforts in this direction by the managements and Govemments.
But they also point out the wide range of useful activity on the part of the
teacher by which, through his own efforts even in the existing set-up, he can
contribute to bring about considerable improvement in the educational
institutions and the quality of the work turned out therein, apart from
any far-reaching changes which can be effected only by governmental action.
Methods of teaching, discipline, extra-curricular activities, physical
education, medical aid, etc., all belong to this field, and the many
wise and helpful suggestions in these matters with which the Report abounds may
be implemented immediately, given earnestness, intelligence and enthusiasm on
the part of the teacher and sympathetic and helpful co-operation on the part of
the managements and the public. For this purpose the Report deserves the
careful study and earnest consideration of every teacher and educationist, and
of every member of the public with any interest in national progress in general
and educational reform in particular.
Waifs and Strays by
K. Chandrasekharan. (Published by
Here
is a bunch of essays from the pen of Sri K. Chandrasekharan
who is familiar to readers of Triveni. “He has,” says Dr. S. Radhakrishnan in his Foreword, “a cultivated mind and
writes sensitive and vigorous prose.” Though their medium is rather outmoded,
the quasi-philosophical meditations and arm-chair musings make a reading both
interesting and stimulating. Some of them stem out of daily events, and the
device does not at all seem laboured or artificial.
These ‘fugitive thoughts and reflections’, the waifs and strays, aim at revealing
a proper sense of values which, alas, is fast fading out in the modern day. The
reader who shares the author’s views chuckles in ‘serve-them-right’ way
whenever the philistine and the snob are put in the pillory.
‘Pleasure of pain’ is a psychological analysis of a
paradoxical but not unusual human experience. In ‘Change’ the author trounces
the modern craze for ‘something new’ and the consequent compromise with the
cheap and the vulgar. A real work of art has an enduring value; it is unbitten
by the eccentricities of human tastes, and survives the ‘rage’ of the day.
‘Thinking too Much’ pleads for a judicious mixture of
thought and action to make ‘the elixir of human happiness’. An ounce of action
is better than a ton of thought. It is better to have acted and failed than
never to have acted at all, which sounds like the Gitaic
message. ‘On Reading too Much’ has a
‘we-have-no-time-to-stand-and-stare’ ring. ‘Have you read Hemingway’s latest is
the book-snob’s bubble, and it is that bubble that is sought to be pricked here. ‘Brutus’ is a sensitive portrait of a dog; and a lover
of that incomparable animal alone can enter into the spirit of it. Brutus, run
over by the soulless wheels of a motor car, ‘removed himself from the road lest
he should offend against decency’–which neither the car nor the owner-driver
presumably has! In ‘An Hour of Silence’ a salutary specific is prescribed for a
world distracted by raucous noise. It was
And no less edifying are the rest of the essays.
A word about the startling title and the affectionate and
thoughtful dedication to the Editor of this Journal.
The esteemed recipient, making this book over to the reviewer, remarked in grim
humour: “Rightly dedicated to a waif!” It is not
known that the dedication was ever motivated by any such unconscious irony. But
‘a noble soul and a genuine friend’ is not rarely
condemned to be no more than a waif in a community where right values do not
prevail.
Viswanatha
Sahitya Sanchika. (Special number of ‘Viswasree’.
Edited by Sri Puranapanda Ramamurty,
Alamur,
‘Viswasree’ is a recent addition to the meagre number of
high-class journals in Telugu, genuinely devoted to literature and culture.
This special number deals exclusively with the work of Sri Viswanatha
Satyanarayana, one of the foremost among the men of
letters in Telugu. It is a proof of the earnest endeavour
of the Editorial Board to contribute towards the raising of the cultural level
and the development of true literary taste among the reading public of Andhra,
at this psychological moment of jubilation on the advent of a separate State
for themselves and the consequent high hopes of the realisation of their
cultural individuality and distinctive contribution to the cultural renaissance
of Independent India.
Sri
Satyanarayana, it will be conceded on all hands,
deserves the honour of the first choice for this
feature of the Journal, alike by the volume and variety of his literary output
and the high quality of his achievement. He is a prolific writer with a
versatile genius, and, at the same time, one whose work demands a high level of
scholarship and literary taste for adequate appreciation. Consequently he
enjoys more prestige than popularity and wins more admirers than readers. It is
therefore fortunate that in this volume the much-needed help is offered to the
Telugu reading public, to introduce him, his work, its features and merits by
competent critics. The articles cover almost every aspect of his personality
and literary work–as man, as teacher, colleague, gentleman, speaker, poet,
novelist, playwright, critic etc.,–each aspect being dealt with by a well-known
writer. The Special Editor of this feature number, Sri Indrakanti
Hanumatchastry, deserves praise for achieving
complete success. He has laid the Telugu literary world under a debt of
gratitude for this well-merited tribute to a great writer and
guidance to the lay reader.
It
is hoped that the Editors would persist in their ambition to make such special
numbers a regular feature of their Journal, and that the increased popularity
and genuine appreciation of this Telugu literary giant, Sri Satyanarayana,
would soon win for him all.
One
cannot help regretting the low quality of the paper and get-up of the
publication which is no doubt due to the financial weakness against which all
periodical journalism, especially that devoted to literature and culture,
has to contend. But all honour to heroic souls who
persist in their task of national reconstruction!
M. S. K.