REVIEWS
Eyes
of Light, by Dilip Kumar Roy (Nalanda Publications, Post
Box No. 1353, Bombay. Price Rs. 4.)
IN
a land famous for its mystics and monks, centuries long, the appearance of any
person God-intoxicated need cause no surprise. They appear to
attract the ordinary man and they evolve into a thing or a state which
the ordinary man can neither apprehend nor realise. As evolution can never be
collective in any sphere of advance, it starts with the known bindu and
spreads in space and time. The individual is its theme and where the individual
forgets himself, where he neglects the very meaning of life and death, then and
there the theme of evolution finds its fulfillment. This is an ordinary, if not
an intelligent exposition of the language the mystics of the world from Lord
Dakshinamurti to Bhagwan Ramana speak. We have understood them, but we do not
desire to imitate them. Most of us have the conviction to ignore death, but
have not the moral courage to live the life that is given to us. It is here we
are different from poets. Poets are neither men nor gods; they are the simple
living sparks of life in the consciousness of humanity, blooming or burning in
tune with their moods. We need not try to look clever so as to fathom the
poet’s mind but we shall endeavour humbly to elevate our souls to experience
the poet’s feelings and sentiments.
We
have known Dilip Kumar Roy, the famous musician, but what do we know of the
artist who is on a journey to the land of mystics? The poet in him informs us
of the will to find and the wish to live in that mysterious land,
Where
fires swoon not in ashes,
Nor
shadows outrage light,
And
the soul, changed to a bulbul,
Warbles
of her flawless flight
In
dulcet ecstasies, kindling
The
slumberous stone aflower
With
apocalypse of fragrance
In
eve’s silence-dripping hour,
With
the heart-hush drunk with star-hush,
Makes
tumults break to hymns
And
chains become love’s anklets,
The
last trail of gloom dislimns.”
It
is not a mere wish to live in that land but to sing in ecstasy that has no end.
To him such a land exists. It is a reality for those who could achieve
impersonality. Words seem a bondage to him to express the beauty of the land.
So he closes the poem Faery Tale thus:
‘Tis
not a poet’s faery tale,–
This
world of blissful fantasy:
It
waits in every heart to be won,
Our
last incredible victory.
How
could we get into the awareness of that land beyond space and time? In the poem
Deliverance the easiest way to gain it is rather explained than sung. We
crave and we achieve. We rip open and we find. Of what stuff our craving is
made of we should see before welcoming its result. Of course one need not say
that night craves for the day, that the ascetic craves for the absence of self
in the Self. In truth deliverance is hidden deep in “craving’s starless night.”
The poems Humility, The Atheist, The Inevitable bear a touch of ironic
humour essential to rest, to calm the restless worm: the Ego. The poet’s
renderings from the Bhagawata read well. Kunti to Krishna reveals
the knowledge of the poet to find that “sorrow was inverted bliss”–which is but
a Shelleyan variation.
The
poems of Dilip Kumar Roy are more reflective than intellectual. They show his
stern faith in the prevalence of an extraordinary power which is the perpetual
riddle to physicists and professed atheists. They are not remote lightning
flashes of beauty and brilliance, but a narration of certain experiences in a
moment of tense emotions. He is neither lyrical nor profound; he is successful
as an interpreter of his own emotions which struggle in their search for the
wonderful norm.
Sri
Aurobindo and His Ashrama, by Arya Publishing House, Calcutta.
To
those who feel a natural avidity to know of the beginnings and development of a
mind so richly stored with spiritual energy as that of Sri Aurobindo, the sage
of Pondicherry, this little book of sixty-one pages may not prove quite
satisfactory. Yet the publishers have, as they claim, only made an attempt ‘to
meet the demand’ of a growing interest in the work of Sri Aurobindo and his
Ashrama. In a brief compass are told some of the main events of the great man’s
political activities up to the year 1910, when he decided to discard all his
ambitions of a political career in favour of the spiritual quest which has
taken him to where no earthly prizes are any longer attractive to him.
The
second part in this volume deals with the Ashrama and the Teaching which have
attracted so many persons not only from the various parts of
India but also of the world to flock round him.
Sri
Aurobindo’s Speeches, by Arya Publishing House, Calcutta.
Within
less than two hundred pages have been collected some of the important
utterances of Sri Aurobindo before his final emancipation as a spiritual
leader. There is ample evidence in the speeches printed here of the burning
patriotism of the man and his methods for achieving political freedom, which
though then seemed revolutionary are but the precursors to what later Mahatma
Gandhi developed as the main principles of action for achieving Swaraj. Save
the doctrine of Ahimsa which is totally the Mahatma’s own weapon to win over
the entire world to the side of reason and righteousness every other item in
the programme of action adopted by the Congress High Command under the
leadership of the Mahatma bears resemblance in some form or other to the ideas
generated by Sri Aurobindo while in active politics.
The
Uttarapara speech, so justly famed for its ideas of spiritual regeneration for
the country, still reads fresh and fascinating. One can undoubtedly entertain,
on reading this volume, how some of the early sufferers in the freedom-struggle
are no less significant for their correct perspective of the future than some
of the later stalwarts who have made what India is today: a proud and free
member in the comity of nations.
Sanskrit
in India (The Adyar Library Pamphlet Series)
The
present day apathy to Sanskrit and the almost blind policy of the Government of
the province of Madras in belittling the value of Sanskrit among the subjects
of study both in school and college, do indeed call for a very bold and frank
avowal of its importance from men of light and sobriety of outlook in
contending against the forces that are at work to destroy the grand edifice of
ages. Nothing said here can be taken exception to. One will find that there is
no real argument on the side of the powers that be, shaping our educational
policies, in promoting what they justify as the fairest deal they can think of.
The proposals for encouraging the regional language should, as far as possible,
seek not to oust the place held by Sanskrit hitherto in the curriculum of
studies. Any scheme by which Sanskrit will be made unworthy of serious choice
by entrants to the school or college cannot but result in the total neglect of
it, which to say the least is the shortest route to complete annihilation of
all the trends of culture we have so long cherished.
We
have in this symposium three ardent students of Sanskrit culture making a
strong case for the retaining of Sanskrit in its original place in both school
and college studies.
The
Adyar Library Series have shown much sense of real values by including such
pamphlets that meet the urgency of the hour.
K.C.
The
Physics of Music, by R. K. Viswanathan, M.A.
(Published by the Annamalai University, Annamalainagar, 1948.)
The
book contains fourteen chapters and ten of them are reprints of articles
published by the author in the Sunday issue of the Hindu from 1937-47.
The chapters, each, deal with an important subject that interests students of
music, and contain useful information which has been so far confined to
text-books on Sound.
In
chapter XIII, pages 93-95, an account is given of three experimental methods of
spotting undesirable foci, echoes, and the dead spots in an auditorium or hall.
It is difficult for the reader to grasp all that is stated therein unless he is
already acquainted somewhat with the subject. The book contains a good number
of such accounts and statements couched in technical language, and the
non-technical reader for whom it is intended would perhaps find it not easy to
follow them.
In
the later chapters a number of diagrams are given; a few explanatory sentences
with reference to the diagrams could have been added so that the significance
and use of the apparatus could be better understood. Important diagrams like
that of the cathode ray oscillograph (page 83) could have been better printed
with the parts clearly shown.
On
page 28, the statement that there are twelve frets to the octave in the Vina
and that this shows that equal temperament has been in vogue among
us for a very long time cuts at the very root of the Indian system of music and
is fundamentally incorrect. This is only an echo of the statements of some
occidental modern Sanskritists and Musicologists like M. J. Grosset and E.
Clements who have not understood what they have said.
It
would have been very helpful indeed if the author had mentioned the laws of the
transverse vibrations of strings, explained the method of determining the 22
srutis with the help of the Vina, and given a comparative statement of
the names of the srutis in relation to the tonic as well as the names of the
intervals between successive srutis, both in the Indian and Western systems of
music.
Further
the excellence of the Thambura as an instrument of sruti or drone, the
action of the Jivali and the bridge, the reasons why the harmonium is
condemned for use in Indian music, the significance of Vadi, Samvadi,
Anuvadi, and Vivadi swaras in relation to principles of harmony, and
a brief account of the Janaka, Janya, raga system could have been
included with profit.
But,
it must be said that the book, so far as it goes, is instructive; the chapter
on bells, especially, is very interesting. I am confident that the book would
be widely read and appreciated by all those interested in the objective
understanding of the basic principles of music.
Nelavanka,
by Ravuri Venkata Satyanarayana Rao. (“Sarvodaya
Grandhamala:” Published by Andhra Rashtra Hindi Prachara Sangha, Vijayavada.
Price Rs. 2.)
SRI
RAVURI is well known to the Telugu reading public as an active writer of the
day. Nelavanka, his novel which appeared already in the issues of
“Krishna Patrika” is now published in the form of a book. It is said that the
theme of the novel is based on some of the life incidents of Sri Madhavapeddi
Venkataramiah of Andhra Stage fame.
Mahendra,
an actor reputed in the roles of Dasaratha, Kanva, and the like craves for a
let-out for his pent up parental affections. So he adopts a motherless boy but
as ill luck would have it the boy dies. This shock is too much
for Mahendra and his wife Parvathi. Mahendra realises that ill children
irrespective of caste and creed are fit objects for his
affection and to his Parvathi every child is nothing but a reflection of
“Gopala Bala”. She is a devotee of Krishna and in a dream she sees Krishna
telling her that he would be born as her son. She conceives but dies soon after
giving birth to a son. Mahendra feels that life is more a reflection of the
fictitious stage life to which he was accustomed and that his life story would
be an effective stage play. He writes it and presents it with himself in the
leading role. In the last scene Mahendra falls unconscious, the curtain drops
putting a stop to the play and to the author’s story as well.
Chapters
5, 8, and 12 are some of the many instances to show that the author is an
accurate observer. Scenes are portrayed in their minutest detail, with ease,
depth, and colour. The turn of expression and idiom are characteristic and
homely. However, the story is not well-knit. The opening chapter grips our
interest and sustains it till the adoption takes place but afterwards the story
drags on to an artificial close. Parvathi’s dream, the pre-puberty marriage of
Kamala with Kameswara Rao, and their bedroom scenes are out of tune and are
better left out and the story would not suffer. Owing perhaps to the story
being published in a serial form, minor discrepancies have crept in which could
have been avoided. We are told that Upendra is younger than his sister but
subsequently he turns out to be elder. These show glaringly in an otherwise
good story. The author shows his skill in the presentation of ordinary domestic
life and Viyyamma is a type with which we are all familiar. But we cannot say
this with regard to the two chief characters. Though in the early chapters
Mahendra and Parvathi appear as individuals they dwindle into mere shadows
subsequently. The characters of Gazulatata and Sithamma deserve further
development.
We
are told that this is the first attempt of the author, and as a first novel it
shows great promise. With his accurate observation, delicate humour, and ease
of expression, we are sure, Sri Ravuri could enrich the Telugu literature
further. This “Nelavanka” (Cresent Moon) shows signs of developing into a full
moon shortly.
Sri
Samkara’s Saundaryalahari, With Critical Introduction and Metrical
Adaptation in Telugu, by Sri Darbha Subramanya Sarma, Retired College Professor
of Telugu, Nellore. (Published by the Author. pp. 122, Price Re. 1-4.)
In
this elegantly got-up volume, the learned author, poet of eminence in the
Andhra, has had a very successful try at rendering into Telugu verse the ecstatic
poem of Sri Sankara’s Saundaryalahari, the Wave of Beauty. The
translator’s expression is as facile and ecstatic as the original (Cf. for
instance Vs. 35, 60, 67, 77, and 78 picked at random) although here and there,
his rendering differs from others. That could be justified because especially
in high Samskrit poetry and in the case of Sri Samkara who heaps image upon
image Shelley-like the interpretation varies in proportion to the adaptor’s own
poetic sense and imagination. But we could safely assure the present rendering
has no unseemly rifts of that sort; nor has the original which is in one
uniform short metre suffered because the translator has employed two different
metres (short one for eleven and long one for the rest) for his adaptation.
The
scholarly preface of about 70 pages which examines the poetic and the spiritual
aspects of the original in the light of Tantric Texts like the Siva-samhita,
Siddhaghutika, Yogini-hridiyini, Chatussati, Hata-Yogapradipika,
Heranda-samhita etc., and Lakshmidhara’s valuable Commentary, is really a
synoptic approach to the one quality-less Brahman. It furnishes us with the key
to unlock the mystic sense of the first 41 mantraic verses, while directing a
correct appreciation of the rest 59 which but sublimate into the most ethereal
type the physical charm of Sri Devi as a virgin, a mother, and as the source,
the being and the end of all creation. It sets at rest in an illuminating
manner the various conflicting ideas of the original. It stresses the great truth
that the concrete and the personal are but the necessary aids of approach to
the abstract and the impersonal godhead as laid down in
Sivanlatmani
pasyanti pratimasu na yoginah,
Ajnanam
bhavanarthaya pratimah parikalpitah.
Thus
the Ishtadevata when charmingly delineated by the adorer’s personal sense is
but a symbol of the most Edible and the Ineffable. As the
Virasaiva Saint Sidharama put it:
It
is a Void in the beginning, Void at the end,
It
gets spoilt in the middle knowingly, see!
It
is its own testimony in the world that it becomes so.
Thus
all art is a blasphemy as Roger Fry observes; for, it seeks to describe the Indescribable.
But Sri Samkara (V. 100), and the learned translator (V. at p. 71) are
aware of their limitations.
The
learned translator deserves our congratulations. He has surely conveyed the
spirit and the beauty of the original. We eagerly look forward to similar
adaptations by him of Sri Samkara’s Sivanandalahari and Sri Muka-kavi’s Panca-sati.
Kalai
Chhelvi, by Ki. Va. Jagannathan (Amuda Nilayam Limited,
91, Mount Road, Madras 18. Price Rs. 2).
In
this collection of six short stories the first story which gives the title to
the volume has a moral to impart. Although as an imaginative product it seems
good, it lacks force and vigour. “Kurangin Sutandiram” pictures the animals’
conception of freedom. It has a touch of humour which makes interesting
reading. “Kadankaran” reveals the tragedy of a debtor. The theme is skilfully
handled. “Deepavali Virundu” is no story: it is just a family portrait in
words. The last two stories show that observation of society is essential for a
writer to write a successful story.
Stories
come in shoals that have neither the proper background nor a correct
understanding of thematic value. It is the fashion of the day for anyone to
write a story and appear like an afflicted genius. The writer of these stories,
luckily, has escaped from such impostors with his knowledge gained from a
devoted study of ancient Tamil culture and tradition.
Shakti
Pongal Malar, Edited by Vai Govindan (115-E Mowbrays Road,
Royapettah, Madras. Price Re. 1)
In
the Tamil literary world, today, Journals seem to mould public opinion more
than books of merit and value. Certain writers by their amorphous and imitative
writings endanger rather than enrich the dignity of Tamil. Any language has the
flexibility to yield to the fancy of a creative genius, but the genius has no
liberty to pollute its traditional beauty and natural chastity. It is to save
the language of Kamban and Thayumanavar that the cultural Tamil Journals should
aim at.
Shakti
as a cultural Journal, along with a few of its kind, has
been doing splendid service to the cause of Tamil. This Special Number contains
very interesting articles. Lakshmi Ammal explains the significance of Pongal,
an agricultural festival bringing happiness and strength. The well known
Nadaswara Vidwan Sri T. N. Rajaratnam Piliai has something of his own to say
about music in general and about Nadaswaram music in particular. Controversial
things apart, it is an eminently readable article. Sri A. Muthusivan has
written on Style (“Nadai”). Sri T.M.P. Thondaiman has brought out the
importance of rhythm in form in his capacity to observe works of art. His
article is a trifle pedantic but instructive. Kalaivanan’s poem is simple and
imaginative. The Journal is exquisitely got up for the democratic price of a
rupee.