Dodu and other Stories–By R. K. Narayan, Indian Thought Publications,
Lakshmipuram, Mysore. Price Rs. 1-8-0.
Sri R. K. Narayan has made a name for himself as a writer
in English on Indian themes. One therefore takes up this book by him with
expectation and is glad not to be disappointed. There are seventeen short
pieces in the collection and they deal with very varying themes. Some deal with
children, some with unusual characters, others with the weird and some glance
at peculiarities in our social setting, but there is a refreshing variety in
the subject matter and a sense of artistic adequacy throughout. The description
of Dodu’s or Leela’s or Seenu’s life shows Sri Narayan as a sympathetic student
of children and the details are convincing and could come only from first-hand
knowledge born of kindly insight and loving observation. This is the case also
with Dasi, the half-witted lover of the cinema star. The story of Ranga, who
refuses to learn at school and becomes a servant in a shop and loses his
master’s money by betting in the races and drowns himself in the sea, is
something of a jumble as a story, but the character itself is clearly conceived
and convincing. The story of Samad, the coachman, who is deprived of his
livelihood by the arrival of the motor car is full of detail and all of it is
in place. One may question only the incident of the coachman heaving a brick at
a bus in dudgeon at its having taken the bread out of his Mouth.
This story and the one about the one-armed giant
show the easy simplicity and naturalness of a characteristic story by
Galsworthy. The story of the father, who gets his prospective son-in-law to
look at his daughter by boarding the train in which the young man is
travelling, is beautiful, light satire. Those of the poor mother who is rude to
her son and feels worried when that son does not appear in the night and goes
out and finds him near the tank, and of the poor brothers, Murugan and Kannan,
are touching as only the best writing anywhere can be. These stories describe
our people like some that Guy de Maupassant has written of his.
Other stories are not equally satisfying. The
Talkative man tells three of these other tales but he does not seem to be one
man himself. The ghosts, in the Level-crossing story and in the Old Man of the
Temple story are good enough for the stories but give the feeling of being
constructed. The story of the magic beard or of the forty-five rupees a month
and Gandhi’s appeal are merely ideas expanded. The humour of ‘Engine Trouble’
is rather heavy for Sri Narayan’s pen and the refashioning of the tradition
regarding the sculptor Jakkanachari is too modernised and facile.
This, however, is merely to say that not all the
writing is of the same level but of what book can this be said, unless the
level is no level at all? It should also be added that the work even when not
at its best is that of a competent artist. Sri Narayan’s English has been
praised by English people and stands in no need of Indian approval. If, in
spite of this, one may presume to say a word or two, the style, so far as an
Indian–this Indian–can judge, is mostly good and has an ease and natural flow.
If after all this I make a suggestion to Sri Narayan I hope he will not
misunderstand me. That suggestion is that he should write in some language of
our people. A writer of Sri Narayan’s ability does not need to be told that
story-telling is not a matter of the language learnt in the classroom but from
daily life and almost any reading. This would be accepted as true anywhere but
in our unfortunate country. Writing in the country’s language, our author would
get one of the highest places in our literature. He would please more people
and would, to men like me, be also even more convincing than he is, for trying
to picture the life described. When I meet sentences like, “You have wisdom,
old girl “, “I do not need your certificate”, “A cuckold’s wife is everybody’s
darling,” I catch myself asking how it was said in Kannada or Tamil or
Hindustani. Having written originally in an Indian language, Sri Narayan would
be welcome to write in English too. Indeed, if he adopts this course he will
find that he has said things in the former which are too racy of the soil to go
into English, and that, in consequence, his English will seem less successful
but will have gone deeper into the heart of things.
MASTI VENKATESA IYENGAR.
Marathi Language Course–by H. M. Lambert, M. A., (Cantab), Published by the
Oxford University Press, Nicol Road, Bombay. Pages XIV + 301. Price Rs. 10/-
The names of Rev. J. D. Bate and J. T. Thomson (in
Hindi), Charles C. Brown (in Telugu), W. Carey (in Bengali), R. W. Yates and H.
H. Wilson (in Sanskrit), Molesworth (in Marathi, Rev. W. Reeve, John Garret and
Kittel (in Kannada) are, as western pioneers, still gratefully remembered by
people of the respective linguistic provinces for the work done by them during
the nineteenth century. Rev. D. L. Edward Fairbanks seems next to have
introduced a general application of the “Direct Method” into the teaching of
Marathi to foreigners. The author of the present work says that Fairbanks’s
work inspired her to design the present one with a view to produce quick
facility in speech, that is in the use of the forms heard in ordinary Marathi
conversation. She has selected “Deshi Marathi” as spoken in the District of
Poona as the standard form for this course. The course is divided into two
parts. Part I has been planned to give practice in the use of the easier
construction of sentences in which the verb and the agent of the verb agree.
Part II deals with other constructions that present more difficulty to the
English-speaking student.
The author breaks new ground in the employment of a
phonetic alphabet developed to suit the language taught in this course. She has
added nine modified letters to the English Roman alphabet and hopes that it
might perhaps be the basis of a Romanised Indian Alphabet. The author seems to
be quite conscious of the difference between the style of spoken language and
the literary style. So she gives great importance learning of the actual spoken
language rather than the use of forms found in a conventional grammar book or
the ordinary book with its standard forms. So in teaching the spoken language,
emphasis is placed on current sounds used in appropriate contexts, involving
the training of the ear and the speech organs and the storing up in aural
memory of sequence of sounds expressing ideas. The author has taken great pains
trying to avoid complicated grammatical rules to make the course as possible
for English-speaking missionaries who intend coming down to India and work in
Maharashtra. An elaborate note on the phonetic concept, suggestions concerning
the methods of using this course for the guidance of teachers and students,
explanations of terminologies used in Phonetics form part of the Appendix. In
spite of all this we are afraid that English-speaking teachers and students
would find it hard to mater all the fine variations in quality and length of
the sounds that are heard in the spoken languages of India. The adoption of the
Balbodha or Nagari script alone seems to be the remedy. It helps the student to
learn the alphabets of three languages, viz., Marathi, Hindi and
Sanskrit. It helps in learning the correct sounds of other Indian languages
like Kannada, Telugu or Malayalam. But the course worked out in this book will
serve as a good guide to all English-speaking people to learn spoken Marathi
through the phonetic alphabet. To make the alphabet advocated herein more
popular, it may be hoped that this course will provide a basis for further
publications, such as readers and storybooks.
The Ivory Tower–by S. R. Dongerkery; East and West Book House, Baroda, Price Rs.2/-.
This is a well-got up book of verse written by the
author in “moments snatched from a busy life of official routine.” Poetry
certainly a pursuit for such moments. Abundant leisure when the heart is to
deep and intense contemplation of the varied vision of life fully inspires the
poetical mood. The mind that has to give the mood its literary garb must needs
be equipped with a keen sensitiveness to the majesty of words for, as in other
things, there are the nobles and the commons in the realm of words too.
Mr. Dongerkery has composed verses which bear ample
testimony to his sensitiveness to the beauties of nature. He is also impelled
to make expeditions into the realm of philosophic thought which invariably runs
along the much-trodden path of popular Hindu concepts of love, life and death.
In poems like ‘Overwhelmed,’ “Universal Love” and “Separation,” the author has
not been able to rise above the commonplace conventional drabness of mediocre
composition. But there are poems like the “Toil of Love” where he redeems
himself and surprises the reader with newness and grace of conception and
deftness of execution:
I went on plundering Nature’s store
And made the moon, the stars, the sun
Their treasures at her feet to pour,
And yet her heart I had not won.
But when my bleeding heart I poured
Before her eyes without a groan
A speechless victory I scored
And she could hold no more her own.
The poems are grouped under three heads Love,
Beauty and Truth, which in itself is too much of a conventional classification.
There are two poems well worth reading such as “Jog Falls,” “The Garden Of
Brindavan” and “An Unextinguished Spark.” The sight of the beautiful and the
sublime in nature have an influence on the author that give him the warmth and
skill of expression and make a real approach to poetry.
There are two poems included in this collection,
which are written by the author’s wife. They are “Too Late” and “Dual Role,”
and both deserve great praise for there is great delicacy and freshness of
imagery in them. “Dual Role” is addressed to the wind that has its awful as
well as its gentle missions to fulfil:
Your presence makes the oceans roar,
Their waters dark to whirl,
And boats and ships, on sea, on shore,
Into sad wrecks you hurl.
You softly push the country craft
With cargoes moving slow;
Sweet music on your wings you waft
When you do gently blow.
Your real nature puzzles all
Who watch your dual role;
For though you bluster, bluff and brawl
You have a kindly soul.
The book is well-printed on feather-weight paper
and the get-up in yellow cover and wrapper with an ivory tower drawn by the
same delicate hands as wrote the poem cited above, leave nothing to be desired.
“Indian Horizons” 1 by H. D. Sethna–Price Re. 1.
“Tomorrow” Part I Edited by Raja Rao and Ahmed Ali–Price Rs. 2-8.–Padma
Publications, Bombay.
Indian Horizons by H. D. Sethna is the first of a cultural series, aiming at an
interpretation of Indian culture. It is a collection of seven essays. The
author is convinced that the awakening now witnessed in Indian national life is
not a purposeless plunge into chaotic nothing but a renaissance informed with
the spirit of religious idealism. Though the essays in the volume were written
at varying periods, they have an under-lying unity of purpose. Ramakrishna and
Vivekananda are given there due place in the cultural upheaval, the one as the
apostle of love and the other as the messenger of hope. One of the essays deals
with the valuable part to be played by literature. An attempt is made to
present a philosophical interpretation of Satyagraha, but the ideal of
“Universal man,” probably as taught by Sri Aurobindo, is presented as a higher
stage, One feels, however, that the dynamic philosophy of Gandhiji’s new way of
life, which transforms and elevates the individual into a higher plane of
existence, has only been inadequately appraised owing to the author’s
overstressing of the qualities of humility and sacrifice in Gandhiji’s gospel.
Nevertheless, Mr. Sethna’s deep longing for the re-instatement of spiritual
values in Indian life and his keen anxiety to reveal the soul of India to the
Western world are evident in the essays.
Tomorrow stands on a different plane altogether.
While Indian Horizons stands on the bedrock of the religious idealism of
the past, for Tomorrow the “Past and the Present are illusions. The
Editors “stand for the assumption of natural values.” The volume before us is a
collection of fourteen contributions from eminent writers of different
countries.
Andre Gide’s “Awaitings” is a brilliant piece of
subtle wisdom applicable not only tomorrow but also today. “Gleanings” from
Lu-Hsun, the most famous writer of modern China, is a garland of the choicest
blossoms. There is fire and frenzy in every line; virility or wisdom in every
thought. Vilem Haa’s critical account of Franz Kafka’s great writing has the
power to whet our appetite to taste the original dish. Vatsyayana’s
“Butterflies” has such an enchanting pathos about its story–if there be any
story at all–that one is tempted to learn Hindi to enjoy it in the original.
Ismet Chughtais’ “Little Mother” is a charming story spilling child-like
simplicity from beginning to end. All these are good and enjoyable. But we fail
to understand the motive of the Editors in including in this collection such an
unpleasant story as the one selected from the pen of the celebrated Russian
writer, Mikhail Sholokov. The story with its motto: “You cannot defeat an enemy
without having learnt to hate him from the bottom of your heart,” may be good
propaganda but poor and stultifying philosophy for tomorrow. The few poems
chosen have an elusive fragrance and atmosphere about them, especially those
from Le Chia.
The Editors deserve to be congratulated on this
‘international’ publication.
K. S. A.
‘The Educational System’–A double pamphlet by K. G. Saiyadain, H. V. Hampton, Amaranath Jha, Ranajit Chetsingh, K. Venkataraman and P. N. Joshi. Price: 12 as. The Oxford University Press. pp.64.
This is an excellent attempt at setting forth in a
nutshell the important problems concerning our educational system for the
information and understanding of the layman. Coming from very eminent
educationists, the essays give evidence of deep insight born out of experience
and present a good perspective. The essays are sure to be of added interest to
the general public in the wake of the Sargent Plan and the Bombay Reform in
Elementary Education, recently in the news.
All the five essays are delightful reading, especially,
the first one on primary education. Mr. Saiyadain’s inference and diagnosis are
well-founded when he says that the present deplorable state of affairs in
Indian education is due to people’s indifference and the administration’s
hesitation and timidity. He does not set any store by reforms introduced into
the present set framework. “Reforms (like the Dalton plan and the Project
method) have unfortunately failed to revolutionise educational ideology and
technique because the piecemeal changes and modifications have been introduced
into the set frame-work of the existing system, as though life, which is
dynamic and free, could be forced into preconceived outworn and unsuitable
moulds” (p. 16) Mr. Hampton similarly says (on p. 30): “The whole school syllabus
is rigid and inelastic and characterised by a dull and monotonous uniformity,”
when referring to secondary education. Prof. Amarnath Jha strikes the same note
when he says. “Change and reform are signs of vitality,” He exhorts the
Universities to adapt themselves to changed conditions. “Only a moribund
institution can rest on its oars. Circumstances have altered. Old values are
challenged.” But how far have our universities evinced any interest to adapt
themselves to new situations and new values? Mr. Venkataraman, writing on
Technical Education, also says: ‘A feature of our educational system is its
rigidity” (p. 59). How all the four writers concur in their diagnoses of the
present malady! Thus all the efforts and enthusiasm of reformers are stultified
in the face of a dead steel-frame and the hesitation, if not the antipathy, of
the administrator and lack of interest on the part of the public. The problem
is Herculean and needs, in Mr. Saiyadain’s words, “an organisation of an
enthusiastic educational crusade on a nation-wide basis.” This is applicable to
all the grades of education.
The chapter on adult education is more a compendium
than an original contribution on the subject. The fact that the country woke up
to the problem only recently may be as much a reason for the brevity of the
treatment as against it. But even as it is, it is instructive.
The Oxford University Press deserves
congratulations on bringing out a book on a matter of such vital importance to the
land, though in the present scheme of things education “suffers first in times
of woe and war and is remembered last in times of weal.”
B. S.
Friend of Friend by Sir Colin Garbett–Oxford University Press. Pages 236. Price
Rs. 5.
Sir Colin Garbett, a member of the I. C. S., served
in the Punjab and elsewhere for over thirty years and relates in this book the
lessons of his administrative experience and also many interesting
reminiscences and anecdotes. His views about India and its cultural life and background
in general erroneous, and highly controversial in places. Dutiful and
hardworking, the author claims, and deserves, credit for effecting many
improvements in agriculture, sanitation and education; tact and a knowledge of
human nature helped him to settle amicably many communal tangles, patch up
personal quarrels and secure private charity for public causes.
The dominant motive of the author, however, appears
to be to inform the public that there are many cankers in the heart of the
lotus which is India and that the British administration of this land is
entirely to its benefit and therefore indispensable. The Hindu-Moslem question
is raised with the pertinacity of a musical refrain throughout this
departmental ditty. No claim is made that Government officials have attempted
to compose this difference, but the author suggests education as a possible
remedy (without reference to the length of time the process may take), as if
educated persons are free from communal bias! Sir Colin’s conviction is that
the Montford Reforms erred on the overgenerous side to India and this foretaste
of liberty spoilt the Indians who not merely wanted a second bite of the cherry
but aspired for complete independence! It is understandable, the author
concedes generously, to parley with friends (this is the justification for the
title chosen for the book), but how can any one think of negotiating with the
Indian National Congress, a body of seditionists who desire Indian Independence
and total severance from British connection? For the patent unwisdom of such a
step, which even caused difficulties in provincial administration, the author
blames Lord Irwin who negotiated with the Congress. Title-hunters, place
seekers, lying witnesses and income-tax dodgers are not a tribe by no means
peculiar to India but are often met with in the author’s native island as well.
The fantastic claim is made on behalf of Miss Mayo, the author of Mother
India, that she came out with the bare truth in her book not to vilify but
to tell the Americans that the German propaganda against England was untrue and
that backward India most needed Britain’s protection and beneficent rule. The
author blames a temple bell, which he bought, for the death, disease and
disaster which dogged his footsteps as long as he owned it; it is not quite
clear if the inference to be drawn from this is that it is dangerous to acquire
temple property or that the Indian gods are also Wicked! Though it cannot
expiate for the other shortcomings in the book, the decision to pay the profits
to the Red Cross Organisation is a generous gesture for which the author and
publishers deserve praise.
C. R. S.
The Tell-tale Picture Gallery–(Occult stories by H. P. Blavatsky and W. Q.
Judge. International Book House Ltd., Bombay Rs. 2)
The two well-known theosophists, W. Q. Judge and
Madame Blavatsky, are the authors of the twenty occult stories in this
collection. The admixture of fact and fiction in these tales may not be exactly
to the liking of those who wish to study in a scientific manner the hidden
psychic forces latent in man and understand the unexplained laws of nature
which underlie occult phenomena. They may prefer only the facts without their
being mixed up with the creative imagination of an artist or author, however
eminent. Read purely as stories, the bunch grips the interest of the readers.
Madame Blavatsky’s language is eloquent and poetical and her graphic
descriptions haunt the mind: ‘Ensouled Violin’ is perhaps the most powerful
story, in which a dead master inspires his pupil to play even better than the
known best. Mr. Judge’s style is as limpid and perspicuous as a crystal stream
and equally refreshing: the reader understands him with ease. An explanatory
glossary helps the layman to understand occult phraseology.
C. R. S.
The Bihar Herald–70th Year Souvenir.–Editor: M. C. Samaddar.
The first English weekly to be started in Bihar
seventy years ago, The Bihar Herald has continued to appear without a
break all these years: a proud and enviable record, indeed. The Annual Number
contains many interesting contributions from well-known writers. We wish the
Journal a long and prosperous career.
C. R. S.
The Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer Shashtyabdhapoorthi
Souvenir Volume–The Souvenir
is published to commemorate the completion of sixty years by Sir Alladi
Krishnaswami Iyer, Advocate General of Madras. Besides an interesting
biographical sketch, it contains the messages of good will and felicitations
received from all over the country. Coming from the pen of so eminent a jurist,
the articles, speeches, and addresses published are worth close study. Sir
Alladi’s is a brilliant example of a self-made career and his munificence to
many deserving causes (the ‘Triveni’ also is among them) no less than his
intellectual acumen and forensic abilities have earned for him an honoured
place in public esteem and affection.
C. R. S.
Crusade of Free Spirits–by Rt. Hon’ble Alexander Wamwetzos–published by
the New Book Company, Bombay.
This book purports to be a draft of peace conditions.
The disillusionment suffered by the author both in his own country before War
and at the hands of the authorities of the United Nations after War broke out
and he consequently became an exile, have not defeated his idealism, while it
has been tempered and given a practical orientation. The war aims of the United
Nations are generally understood to have been expressed in the Atlantic
Charter. The future peace conditions visualised by the author have the Charter
as their basis. But the vagueness of the Charter itself and the varied and very
often contradictory interpretations that it has received at the hands of those
in authority make it a very uncertain foundation. Nevertheless, the author’s
scheme may be regarded as a valuable contribution to the growing literature on
the future of the world by a detached and disinterested student.
The author has visualised the Indian problem as an
integral part of the world problem which cannot be finally solved without
solving the Indian problem. On the whole, the author takes a fair view of the
situation and unhesitatingly comes to the conclusion that those who are in
authority in Britain do not wish to give up their hold on India. How difficult
it is for a foreigner, however detached he may be, properly to appraise the
situation here is demonstrated by the author’s endorsement of the view that the
Congress, while in office in the Provinces, conducted itself in such a way as
to lose the confidence of the minorities. Incidentally it also reveals how
powerful a weapon propaganda can be and how ruthlessly it has been used by the
rulers of this land.
The value of the work is further enhanced by the
material that it has incorporated from contemporary records as to the trend of
events, as, for example, the Darlan incident.
While there can be no doubt about the author’s
effort being a laudable one, we are left wondering with him, after the
demonstration of French Imperialism in regard to the Lebanon incident, after
the exhibition of unabashed racialism in South Africa and after all the
experience India has had at the hands of Britain subsequent to the outbreak of
the War, whether slogans like Justice, Freedom, Democracy, and Brotherhood, are
sincere, whether the United Nations are really fighting for the cause of the weak
against the strong, and whether we are, after all, moving towards a better
world.
OXFORD PAMPHLETS ON WORLD AFFAIRS.
An Atlas of the U.S.A.–by J. H. Stembridge. Price 6 d.
This pamphlet by a well-known author contains a
description of the country, the customs and manners of the people of the U.S.A.
and their political and economic struggles. The pamphlet makes use of the map
as the main as the main device and the attempt, therefore, is very successful.
The maps have explanatory notes to render them understandable and useful.
An Atlas of India–by A. M. Lorenzo–Price Annas 8.
Brief but complete in itself, starting with the
environmental setting of India and finishing with geopolitics and sociology,
this small pamphlet is well-illustrated with twenty-two maps and pictorial
representations of vital statistics. The size and scope of the pamphlet have
perhaps precluded the author from giving possible solutions to problems which
have been merely stated, like the readjustment of living space between the
State and the British Indian Provinces, etc. The country must come to its own
before it can introduce large scale and small scale industries to reduce the
pressure on land, to raise the average income and to eradicate the many ills,
social, economic and Political that the country suffers from.
It is a useful and informing publication.
The British Pacific Islands–by Sir Harry Luke. Price 6 d.
This pamphlet is on the Islands, which have now assumed
world-wide importance as air bases. The author, in the chapters on the native
races and the impact of the white man, has been sympathetic and fair to all
concerned. The style and the presentation of the matter make the booklet
reading.
Bettada Jeeva–by Sri Sivaram ‘Karant–59-60 Manohara Granthamala, Dharwar. Price
1–14–0.
This is a story of a tough Malnad Life. The hero
reminds one of Wordsworth’s Michael, and lives in a lonely and far-off hamlet
hidden beneath the impenetrable woods of Malnad. He abounds in profound
commonsense, is imbued with a strong sense of humour and inspired by a spirit
of heroic action. A restless and untiring worker, he is not beaten by
disappointments. He is highly cultured, though not, perhaps, educated in the
usual sense. Being in touch with the currents of modern life, he has sent his
son for higher English education. But unfortunately, by force of circumstances,
his son falls under the evil influence of urban companions, altogether forgets
his parents and is practically lost them. This desertion casts a gloom on their
daily life. The hero bears heroically this filial ingratitude, but his wife
pines away slowly under the pain.
All this is narrated by a stranger-visitor to the
spot whose identity is not revealed at all. He experiences the cordial
hospitality of his generous host. He seems to be an aimless traveller
delicately bred up in town. This character is not vividly portrayed; and is
perhaps not meant to be a sprightly one.
There are other minor characters depicted in a
lively manner. Here and there we find flashes of vivifying description of
nature in all her grandeur.
The language is simple and elegant. One may
complain that the humour is sometimes too deliberate; also that there is also a
wearying sameness in situations with patches of monotony in conversations,
though happily they are far between. The last chapter however is arresting and
interesting.
The author wields a pen that can portray a charming
picture of graceful life as well as an awful environ surrounding it.
‘Jahanara’–by Sri S. V. Parameswara Bhatta, Kannada Lecturer, Intermediate
College, Tumkur. Publishers: Panduranga Press, Tumkur.
‘Jahanara’ is a long narrative poem, of which Jahanara, Shah Jahan’s daughter, is the
heroine. She has been in prison as a result of her having taken sides with
Dara, her eldest brother, against Aurangzeb. In the solitude of her prison she
looks back on her past life so full of sad events. She was in love with a
Rajput who gallantly fought on the side of the rightful heir and died a hero’s
death in one of the engagements. There seemed no end to her misery and wretched
loneliness.
The heroine is portrayed almost as a ‘Hindu Sati’
in spite of her Muslim birth and breeding. Justification of this may be sought
in the fact that she loved a Rajput.
The smooth flow of the narrative has suffered to
some extent by the pensive mood overhanging it. The lines are occasionally
laden with heavy Sanskrit compounds and there are quaint old Kannada terminations
tacked on to new Kannada forms. We welcome this promising effort, and trust the
gifted author will give us more of such historical narratives.
H. N. K.
Puyal–By Rabindranath Tagore. Translated into Tamil by T. N. Kumaraswami, B.A.,
Alliance & Co., Publishers, Mylapore, Price Rs. 6/-
Tagore as a writer ranks equal with the best in
world’s literature. Perhaps no other can claim to be as versatile and great as
he is in the employment of all kinds of literary forms for expression such as
song, drama, dialogue, essay, novel and short story. Before the many Indian
languages could absorb Tagore in full English and some of the other European
tongues were translating him. No doubt the poet’s mind and art cannot be at
their highest in a translated version, however ably done. Much less can they
show off in the garb of English, which, according to some critics, is even less
fitted than the other European languages to bring out the beauties of the
oriental mind.
Any day translations by one from another of the
Indian languages should have a better appeal to Indian readers because of the
fundamental unity of culture and tradition underlying all diversities on the
surface. May be the rhythm of words and the elusive form in the original Bengali
are not transmitted in such renderings. But certainly much that is imperishable
in thought will not be lost. Hence our peculiar pleasure in welcoming works of
Rabindranath in Tamil, which has gained numerous votaries from English-educated
intellectuals in an amazingly short time.
Sri Kumaraswami’s ability for the task of rendering
Tagore into Tamil cannot be questioned. He is a student of Bengali literature
and has a distinct advantage over others thereby. Again, his Tamil possesses
much flexibility and resonance, so well-equipped for the purpose of retaining
Tagore’s rich imagery and metaphors.
The story of ‘Wreck’ is so well-known to Indian
readers as a high-class social novel that it needs no special inducement to be
read. But to those who have not the benefit of knowing it in the Bengali, a
translation of it in Tamil from the Bengali directly provides the next best
satisfaction. A strange fear lurks in some quarters that translation stifles
originality in the first instance. Again, it tends to develop an inferiority
complex in one’s own efforts. True, such speculations may be useful, though
this much can be always said that any day the attempt at translations of Indian
authors of repute is a far more wholesome endeavour than rendering Russian and
French authors into our languages. Whether belonging to Bengal, Maharashtra or
Tamil Nad, writers in this country partake much of our own surroundings, and
the same heart and pulse-beat quicken them to unfold themselves. Do we not
need, then, more such beacon-lights as Tagore to shed a permanent glow on our
path for the supreme end of being Indians first and Indians last?
Lastly, a word of hearty congratulation on the
admirable way the publishers have chosen to give us this book with its neat
get-up and clear-print.
K. C.
Kalki Deepavali Malar, 1943–Kilpauk Madras. Demy 4 Vo-Pages 320.
This Deepavali Number published by ‘Kalki,’ the
popular Tamil Journal issued thrice a month) is a sumptuous production
containing interesting and varied literary fare and numerous illustrations,
including historical ones, and cartoons. There are stories by Rajaji,
Suddhananda Bharati, K. Santanam, K. Savitri Ammal, K. P. Rajagopalan, Kalki
and Sukhapriya; articles and sketches by T. K. C., Krishnaswami Iyer, K. V.
Rangaswami Iyengar, Ambujammal, Rao Saheb Vaiyapuri Pillai and poems by
Desikavinayakem Pillai and V. Ramalinga Pillai.
There are numerous portraits–those of Gandhiji and
Kasturi Bai being noteworthy–and cartoons by Shankar, Sharma and others. The
coloured and silhouette pictures of Kanu Desai lend distinction to the Annual.
True to its traditions, the Annual reproduces portraits of contemporary
musicians, actors etc., seeking to bring them to public notice. The numerous
advertisements add colour and quality to a publication which must be considered
a triumph in these days of paper scarcity. The publishers deserve hearty
congratulations.
K.
The Perumpatappu Svarupam Grandhavari–Book 1–Record in Oriental Languages– Cochin State.
Published by V. K. R. Menon, Cochin Government Press, Ernakulam.
The manuscript published takes up only sixteen
pages of printed matter. But the publication contains an elaborate critical
English Introduction and a Malayalam translation of it as well as many
appendices. The publication is the first of the series undertaken in pursuance
of the request of the Indian Historical Records Commission. The manuscript
belongs to the 18th century according to Mr. M. Sankara Menon who first brought
it to light and translated it into English, and purports to give a summary of
the history of the Royal family of Cochin from the earliest times up to the
conquest of British Malabar by Hyder Ali. A complete provisional chronology of
the Cochin Rajas had already been published in 1863 A. D. by Dr. F. Day in the The
Land of the Perumals on the basis of a single manuscript supplied by the
then Dewan, Mr. Sankunny Menon. Access to fresh material from Portuguese
sources led Messrs. K. P. Padmanabha Menon and C. Achyuta Menon to correct the
dates given by Mr. Day. Both chronologies are given in the introduction
facilitating comparative study. This chronology is again compared with that
given by Tenkailanathodayam of Neelakanta, which belongs to the
sixteenth century. A new manuscript called Patappattu, a war-ballad
discovered in 1924, helped Ulloor to correct the chronology still further. A
translation of a memoir written by Henriek Van Rheede, a Dutch Commander,
describing the events leading up to the capture of the Cochin Fort is given
together with the chronology corrected in the light of the new material. The
present publication is interesting to the linguist also as showing the progress
the Malayalam language has made within the last two centuries in matters of
diction and construction. We dare say that the archives of the Cochin
Government contain many more historical records which deal not only with the
destinies of the Royal Family, but would throw light on the culture and
progress of the people of the State, and we hope the Government would spare no
efforts to unearth them and make them available to scholars.