REVIEWS

 

Changing the Curriculam: edited by John F. Kern. University of London Press: 13s. 6d.

 

It is unfortunate that education at every level has become the guinea pig of experimentation. It is the plaything of politicians narrow-minded chauvinists. Patriotism is the last refuge of every illiterate or ill-educated reformer. The love of ones country is measured by the abuse of a particular language which is the window on the western world.

 

Five British Professors of Education formulate the basic theory of curriculum change and renewal. We should take care to see that the light that guides us is not an ignis fatuus. Kenneth Charlton, for instance, points out that educational theory at the day is moving towards synthesis which may modify our theory of knowledge which in turn may modify our curriculum and curriculum theory (p. 76). It is the influence of the psychology of child development, states Taylor, that makes the concept of readiness in the language of teachers (p. 80). Frank Musgrove  writes the work of evaluating curricula from the point of view of social objectives has scarcely begun (p. 109). Paul Hirst suggests that it is quite impossible to learn facts, to know them as facts without acquiring the basic concepts and the criteria for truth involved (p. 45). Prof. Kerr informs us that the really important questions in curriculum discussion are not syllabuses and methods of teaching but objectives. The curriculum is a tetrahedron with a component at each vertex–curriculum objectives, knowledge, learning experiences and curriculum evaluation. Further, how are we to resolve the dichotomy between theory and practice, between teacher-training and the actual job of teaching children?

 

I have referred to a pentagon of views to give the reader an idea of the riches of the book. Any one interested in educational theory should make this book ones friend and philosopher. History and philosophy, Psychology and Sociology throw light on the strategy of curriculum planning though it is dangerous to rely on the findings of individual disciplines. It is said that Aristotle puts the right questions whether he gives the right answers or not. Changing the Curriculum makes change or reform in education more rational and less erratic. A sentence of Coleridge, says Virginia Woolf, explodes in the mind. This book merits similar praise; it explodes in the mind. It is the road to the Xanadu of the complex process of curriculum change. The book does not need a reviewer’s puffery. It shows the many gaps in our thinking about education. It eliminates the idea that education is education as pudding is pudding and the best thing is to swallow it. It induces the play of criticism in this field which, according to Arnold, should precede any creative effort. The book supplies a set of constructs. Reform can be rationally designed and consciously willed.

 

In these days when curriculum builders swear by science-based curriculum, it is relevant to know that the ultimate purpose of education is, in the words of Rantock, ‘a clarification of the world of nature, of the world of man, and of the internal world of sensation and reflection, of emotion and cognition.’ (p. 21)

–PROF. K. VISWANATHAM

 

The Epic of Saivism: by Yogi Suddhananda Bharati. Saiva Siddhanta Publishing House, Broadway, Madras–1. Price: Rs. 5.

 

It is the pride of South India that it has had in the past a great line of saints and devotees of the Lord, who by their sheer strength of faith and God-experience, were able to pour out in strains of Tamil song the glory of the Almighty. If the devotees of Vishnu were called Aalwaars, the dedicated souls of Siva were named as Naayanaars. If the outpourings of the Vaishnava singers were termed Divya Prabandams, those of the Saivites went by the name of Devaarams. Almost as contemporaries were these living in the land and one can only wonder at the purity and plenty of their hearts’ searchings towards God.

 

Towards the middle of the twelfth century after Chirst, during the reign of Anapaaya (Kulottunga II) Chola, a God-intoxicated person, called Sekkizhar, strove to narrate the eventful lives of the Naayanaars in verses, which correspond in form to the Devaarams themselves. In seventy cantos he collected in his own words, the lives of the famous saints who with unswerving zeal and steadfastness, fulfilled themselves with God’s grace in order to sing His praises without any interruption. The result was a magnum opus of nearly 4,286 stanzas of unalloyed dedication of the spirit to the knower of human destiny. Periya Puraanam was the title under which this book of hagiology got released to the world and has proved a standing source of influence to the religion of the followers of Siva.

 

The most famous of the Naayanaars like Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar who have been responsible for the major contents of the book of Devaarams were the heroes of legends which when read, can make the least religious among us, stirred to our depths. Miracles and wonder-works have given life to these episodes that are recited with fervour and piety still in every temple of accredited antiquity in South India. An attempt to make these ancient soul- stirring stories available to readers of other languages is a laudable one, and everyone will feel indebted to Yogi Suddhananda Bharati for his English version of the contents of the Peria Puraanam. He has not exactly translated the Tamil verses of Sekkizhar’s book, but has in a summary manner given in English the matter contained in them. Apart from his English narration of the lives of the Naayanaars, he has in his short introduction dwelt upon the characteristics of the Saiva saints and has drawn their comparisons with some of the western saints of the middle ages in their earnestness for a dedicated life of devotion.

 

The Saiva Siddhanta Works Publishing Society has done well in trying to acquaint people of other countries with the remarkable achievements in spiritual experience of some of our saints, by bringing out an English version of the (12th Tirumurai) Holy book. Dr. V. A. Devasenapati has added his Foreword to the volume which is sure to attract the notice of all readers of a devotional bent of mind.

–K. CRANDRASEKHARAN

 

Perspectives in American Literature: edited by Jagdish Chander. Lyall Book Depot, Ludhiana. 411 pages. Price: Rs. 12-50.

 

Seven Modern American Novelists, An Introduction: edited by William Van O’connor. Popular Prakashan, Bombay. 302 Pages. Price: Rs. 8-00

 

The two books on American literature selected here for review are issued by Indian presses but are sufficiently contrasting in themselves in respect of presentation, approach, depth and academic standards aimed at. By contrast, the Indian approach appears be juvenilee. As the title suggests, the first book is intended to serve as outlines of American studies by Indian writers. Almost all the useful topics for Indian students offering American literature for their Honours or post-graduate courses in Indian universities have been scrupulously selected and dealt with. These essays were written by the students and teachers of various Indian universities, predominantly of the north, for the express purpose of participating in a seminar held at Simla in 1967 under the auspices of U. S. E. F. I.

 

Of late, there has been a spate of books which are the outcome of various American Literature Seminars being organised all the country over. Most of the writers of such seminar papers never reveal their potentialities of rising beyond the level of post-graduate students of Indian universities, and since American literature studies in this country are monopolised by few eminent figures, anything written by them is thus good for being printed. The obvious advantage of publishing such seminar papers is that it makes room for budding critical talent but the accompanying disadvantage is that no serious thought is given to improving standards. It is not possible to expect a high academic or research standard from these papers and perhaps that is not the intention either. That even in such a hybrid collection there would be exceptions is not quite surprising.

 

The other book, as is already suggested, serves as a striking contrast to the preceding one. The writers discussed here–all modern novelists and most of them of well-established reputations–are Thomas Wolfe, Edith Wharton, Sinclair Lewis, Nathaniel West, Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway. The essays are in the form of critical introductions by university professors and critics in America. The papers compiled here were published originally as separate pamphlets by Minnesota University on American writers. All the essays present refreshingly the viewpoints of these novelists in the context of the developing American culture. The analysis of individual novels, though quite often not detailed, are sufficient to be striking and to suggest the novelty of vision that each writer works out. The bibliographies appended towards the end of the book seem to have been assiduously prepared and are so carefully selective as to prove useful guides to the exploring students. Apart from the index given at the end, the editor has added an introduction also wherein he explicates his own views about the craft of fiction and the world-view which inheres each work of fiction. The so-called modernity may lie only in the ‘technique’ or the ‘Point-of-view’ which may prove only a superficial veneer, for ‘the great novelists have always known how to tell a story.’ Eliot’s concept of modernity comes easy in such contexts and the editor has not failed to relate it convincingly to his readers vis-a-vis the art of fiction.

–D. C. AGRAWALA

 

Poetry and Truth, a Philosophical essay on modern poetry: by Abu Sayeed Ayyub, Jadhavpur University, Calcutta. (1970) Pp. xii +163. Price: Rs. 10; $ 3; 20sh.

 

Abu Sayeed Ayyub, the author of the book under review, needs no introduction; he is quite a familiar figure on the Indian intellectual scene as the author of a few books and also as a former editor of the quarterly Quest (till 1968). Poetry and Truth is a revised and enlarged collection of Hirendranath Dutta Memorial Lectures delivered by Ayyub at Jadhavpur University during March-April 1968 and the university authorities deserve all credit for bringing out the lectures in a book-form.

 

As its subtitle (“a philosophical essay on modern poetry”) indicates, the book is a study of the relation between poetry and truth against the backdrop of modern poetic theory and achievement. The present study is remarkable more for the author’s dissatisfaction and disagreement with certain positions of the modern poets and literary theorists than for any uncritical endorsement, as is the habit some critics and writers, of all that is modern. The author’s quarrel with modern poetic theory and practice is essentially directed against what he singles out as its two major aberrations: abstractionism or an excessive preoccupation with words at the Cost of meaning, an “overwhelming consciousness of evil,” a phrase Lionel Trilling used sometime ago to characterise the bulk of modern literature. Ayyub is cautious enough to qualify his indictment with the remark that not all modern literature is abstract or charged with an over-whelming consciousness of evil but “much is and a great deal more shows one or both these trends.” He singles out Baudelaire, Valery and Mallarme as the major exponents of these aberrations and feels an uncritical acceptance of their leadership by the early poets produced results not altogether happy. The exceptions, he notes, are: Hopkins and Frost, Yeats and Tagore, in their last phase, Eliot of Four Quartets and Rilke of Duine Elegies.

 

            With a sense of relevance that goes with a perceptive critical awareness, Ayyub does well to concentrate in the first chapter on the major tenets of modern literary theory–of Valery in particular whose theory is contrasted with that of the Indian aesthetician Kuntaka. Kuntaka’s definition of poetry, Ayyub points out, as “the togetherness of the mutually challenging excellences of word and meaning” comes very close to Paul Valery’s idea of a tension between sound and sense in poetry. The comparison serves mostly to clarify Valery’s concept of words and the ‘poetic state’. Ayyub goes on to point out how the attempts to make poetry ‘pure’ art, either by making in approximate to the condition of music or the state of painting–the pet analogies of the late nineteenth century French poets–have only resulted in structures of words emptied of meaning. An upshot of all this has been an abstract poetry which Ayyub defines as “a structure of words which gives us the experience of being looked at instead of being looked through.” (p. 17).

 

            Ayyub’s case against some aspects of modern literature comes out forcefully in his repudiation of the very philosophical premises of the school of the absurd: “...the doctrinaires of the absurd are professed atheists yet naively expect like good Christians to see the hand of God of love and mercy in everything. It is right to look for a moral order in a God-governed universe; and it is proper to be prepared for a lot of evil where physical and biological laws prevail. It is absurd to deny God and yet expect to see the world run according to a divine plan.” (p. 156)

 

            In short, the study may be regarded as a timely and serious protest against so much that is negative in modern literature. Neither ‘pure’ poetry, nor the inverted-romanticism of the Baudelairian kind nor even the campaigning against ‘a phantom ruler of the universe’ (as in the school of the absurd) can make, Ayyub feels, literary experience meaningful or healthful, unless it is animated by a sense of values. How much of a “metaphysical black-out” there has been on the modern literary horizon can only be realised in a comparison with the great tragedies of Shakespeare in which “the negation of values is never total.” Ayyub’s warning is not without some point: “if we do not see through the metaphysical black-out indulged in by many modern writers, then moral blackout cannot be far behind. But untruth itself is a disvalue, not only a metaphysical but also and even more a literary disvalue...” The discourse concludes with a plea for avoiding ‘aesthetic falsity’ and for a normalisation of the old relation between poetry and truth–the sort of relation in which a sense of the terribleness of truth is not unmixed with bliss, as in the poetry of Rike or Yeats.

–ALUR JANAKI RAM

 

The Simhachalam Temple: by Dr. K. Sundaram, Department of History and Archaeology, Andhra University, Waltair. Published by Simhachalam Devasthanam, Simhachalam, Visakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh. Pp. xiv plus 295. Price: Rs. 12.

 

            At the very outset the learned author for his brilliant study and the publishers, the Devasthanam Committee, have to be congratulated for the issue of this de luxe volume on the art and archaeology on one of the ancient historical and spiritual temples of India. Nestling amidst the luscious greens of the Simhachalam range of hills and the middle portion of the ancient State of Kalinga the spot continued as an apple of discord among the Chalukya- Cholas, the northern Gangas, Matsyas of Oddadi, Silavamsa kings of Nandapara, Chalukyas of Elamanchi, Surabhis of Jantarunadu, Pallavas of Viruktam, Koppula chiefs, Suryavamsi Gajapathis of Orissa (major powers), and other miscellaneous royal and made-up royal dynasties, who all vied with one another for political suzereinty over the strategic region. But they were one and all exemplarily loyal to the mighty Varaha-Narasimha, the presiding deity of the temple, and did their utmost not only to renovate but also endow the temple abundantly with maanyams for the various Bhoga-services to be rendered to the Lord every day and on special festivals. Even the Muslim Nawabs of Bengal and Oudh were faithful to this Hindu God and did their best to repair the damage committed by some of their misguided iconoclastic zeal. (Appen. II and Chap. VII)

 

            Although the ancientness of the temple as of Varaha-Narasimha is still clouded in mystery and is not borne out by any historical records or Puranas like the Skanda and the Matsya, yet its existence and spiritual glory is definitely evidenced since the time of the Chalukya Chola Kulotthunga (1009 A. D.) onwards. (Appen. II, Inscriptions) In this context it should be known that during the reigns of the Ganga kings, Bhanudeva I, and Narasimha II (1187-1221 A. D.) the temple was extended and rebuilt into the great artistic heritage that it now is. This is borne out by the close similarities of the art-motifs between this temple on the one hand and that of the Konarka temples on the other.

 

            It must similarly be noted that the Moola Vigraha of Varaha-Narasimha is a peculiar form unknown to many of the ancient silpa satras.

 

            The book is a masterly study of the Simhachalam Kshetra. It is analytical, comprehensive in its own scope, convincing and compelling of the high regard which is its due. It need not be stressed that it is a paragon of what a history of a spiritual Kshetra should be divested of all the soppiness of inconsistent and unreasonable mythological traditions and blind beliefs. It is high time that Kshetra Puranas of this type be written of ancient religious temple centres like the Varanasi, Srisailam, Tirupati, Rameswaram, etc. Then only the Indian spiritual glory would dispassionately be etched on the escutcheon of time and truly.

 

            The learned author needs special congratulations for the delicious choice of representative illustrations and supervision over excellent printing of them. It may safely be said that the architecture and the decorative sculpture of the Simhachalam Temple is a synthesis of the Gupta, the Pallava and Chalukyan art traditions, though not quite perfectly representative of their best technique.

–P. SAMA RAO

 

Gleanings from the Upanishads: by M. P. Pandit. Published by Dipti Publications, Sri Aurobindo Asramt Pondicherry–2. Pages 239. Price: Rs. 10.

 

            This is a collection of about 225 important quotations from the major Upanishads which ensconce in themselves the fruits of the researches of ancient Indian seers in the spiritual realm. The selection begins with a clarion call  (May all sons of immortality hearken) and ends with a note of warning   (There is no other path to save). Each quotation is translated and elucidated clearly to enable the reader to have a clear grasp of the subject. In the very brief introduction, the author explains the nature of the Upanishadic texts and their teachings, and rightly points out that the Upanishads are not mere collections of incoherent and mutually contradicting statements, but records of seemingly divergent but reconcilable experiments of ancient Indian seers. In this hand-book of Upanishadic quotations that are of immense value to thinkers, writers and speakers alike, the author has served dainty dishes of sweets of Upanishadic nectar in an easily assimilable form, and it is up to the discriminating readers to enjoy them.

–B. KUTUMBA RAO

 

Lord Haranath: (Biography) Vol. I–Adi Leela. Compiled by Sri A. Rama Krishna Sastri, 3/19–A, Innispeta, Rajahmundry-2. Pages 240. Price: Rs. 3-50.

 

            Sri A. Rama Krishna Sastri is doing signal service to the devotees of Lord Haranath by undertaking this publication, a biography of Lord Haranath in English in three volumes. The compiler has collected the material both biographical and philosophical from all available sources, and thus this biography is not only authentic but also exhaustive. The first volume under review is divided into two parts. The importance of Sonamukhi town, the greatness of Lord Gauranga, who, it is believed, has incarnated as Haranath, and the pedigree of Lord Haranath are described in the first and introductory part. The second part deals in detail with Haranath’s birth, boyhood, education and service. A book to be owned by all devotees of Lord Haranath.

–B. KUTUMBA RAO

 

Paasupata Sutram: by Dr. Haripada Chakroborti. Academic Publishers, 11, Panchanan Ghosh Lane, Calcutta-9. Price: Rs. 20.

 

            The Paasupata system comes to be mentioned in the Sarvadarshanasangraha of Madhavacharya in the section devoted to Saivism. It is ascribed to Lakulisa whose sutras form the doctrines and base the practices of the sect. This work has been commented upon by Kaundinya (Gupta Age) in his Panchartha-bhashya. This system is known as panchartha, of five categories, because it deals with “(i) Karya (effect which is Mahat and the rest produced from Pradhana according to the Sankhya school), (ii) Kaarana (cause, which is Pasupati alone), (iii) Yoga (Meditlation on Pasupati alone), (iv) Vidhi (behaviour or practices), and (v) Dukkhanta (end of sorrow).” (P. 19) Dr. H. Chakroborti presents here for first time the full text of the sutras and the commentary, edited and translated in English. His conscientious scholarship in handling the difficult material available to him is to be commended.

 

            In his introductory survey of the subject the author gives a rapid account of the growth of Saivism in India, its likely origin, its original contribution and the elements assimilated from other cults. From the period of Mohenjodaro, through the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Mahabharata he traces this line of the religious and spiritual tradition in the Country in its various movements from Kashmiri Saivism in the North to Saiva Siddhanta in the South. Writing on the Paasupata system itself Dr. Chakroborti notes: “...in the Paasupata system Pasupati is the ultimate cause, the creator, the helper and destroyer of the world; and He does these functions out of His nature as a playful being. He is the eternal ruler (Pati) and Sadya, that is, naturally powerful. He is beginningless, unborn and eternal (Sadyojata). He is Pati because He possesses the highest powers which are not the result of any action but which abide in Him permanently. That is why He creates whatever He likes and this is His greatness.” (P. 21-22)

 

            Next on Yoga. Kaundinya says that it is the connecting of the individual soul with God through the conceptual faculty. (Atmesvarasamyoga Yogah) It means that the pasu leads himself to Isvara or that it is due to the reciprocity of action of both God and the individual. Its first requisite is detachment to worldly things. It is of two kinds–consisting in (i) action, and (ii) cessation from action. (Kriyalakshanam, Kriyoparama­lakshanam - Kaundinya) The first consists in muttering syllables, formulas and meditation, etc., and the second consists in mere feeling (Samvid).

 

            Now Vidhi or behaviour is activity which brings about merit ( dharma). Yoga can be attained not simply by mere knowledge but by a certain course of action. Vidhi is of two orders, the principal and the subsidiary; of these the principal is the direct means of merit, religious exercise known as charya and the subsidiary one is “purificatory subsequent ablution for putting an end to the sense of unfitness from begging, living on broken food, etc.” (Pp. 22-23)

 

            What is the final goal attained by the yogin in this path? Kaundinya says that those who are liberated by the Sankhya-Yoga process, attain Kaivalya but lose knowledge of what is self and what is other than self. But the Paasupata yogin who has thus reached Rudra possesses knowledge, that is, omniscience and being careful, comes to the end of sorrows through the grace of the Lord (V. 40). This being with Rudra is his liberation and hence he is no longer dependent on anybody and he can arrest any future aggression of evil. He shares the supreme power of God except that of creation and he becomes completely free from all sorrows of three types. In this stage the Yuktasadhaka should mutter ­Brahman. Even in this highest stage he may experience some disturbance but God is the Lord of all knowledge, the Lord of all beings and the Lord of even Brahman and the Sadhaka would pray to God Siva for His grace and Siva would always be with Him. This is the final stage of beatitude when the yogin will be permanent, free from all sorrows and will relish the eternal association with Siva. (P. 28)

 

            Special notes in appendices on the relation of the Paasupata system to other sects in the Saiva religion make it a highly satisfying and illuminating work.

–M. P. PANDIT

 

As Above So Below: by Jossie L. Hughes. Published by Philosophical Library, New York. Pp. 263. Price: 7.95 dollars.

 

            An interesting record of the author’s experiences in the astral world during the first six years of her occult life. To those whose subtler faculties are open, it is a self-evident fact that the universe does not consist of the material world alone but there are a number of other worlds overtopping the physical. The whole is a system of a number of planes of existence each acting upon the others. There are certain fundamental laws of truth that operate everywhere despite the characteristic processes of the respective planes. Though much of what she describes is too subjective, conditioned by her upbringing in her faith (Christian), there are some useful truths which she illustrates in these pages in an engaging manner.

 

            One can always help the departed, by sending them thoughts of strength, comfort and hope. As long as they are in the worlds near ours, food offered to them with love does reach them in a subtle way.

 

            When death is sudden, one does not realise one is dead. It takes time and help from the spirits or angels of the other worlds to recover consciousness and proceed to the place of rest.

 

            The nature of life led on earth determines the nature of one’s existence in the worlds into which one crosses at death.

 

            In the subtle physical world (the astral as she calls it) one acts by stresses in consciousness, more or less as experienced in dream-states.

 

            Prayer generates a force that lasts as long as the motivating desire continues. The force is strengthened by each repetition of the prayer.

 

            If one can influence events on earth by action in the subtler worlds it is also true that by concentration here on earth one can effect movements in the other worlds. All are interconnected, interacting.

 

            A useful book for the discriminating reader.

–M. P. PANDIT

 

Six Great Modern Short Novels: Indian Edition. Published by Pearl publications Private Ltd., Dadabhai Naoroji Road, Bombay-1. Pp. 448. Price Rs. 2-75.

 

            In “The Dead” by James Joyce, Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel, after having participated in a great annual dance, leave the place when it snows heavily. They rest in a hotel on their way home, and the snow reminds Mrs. Gabriel Gretta of her boy friend Michael Furey who used to wait for her in thick snow and eventually died at the tender age of 17. The reminiscence oppresses her so much that she fails to respond to her husband’s amorous approaches. Though at first he resents the intrusion of the dead boy’s thought, he gradually begins to appreciate the situation and is moved by her sheer childlike innocence. He too ruminates over the “hosts of the dead.”

 

            The titular hero of “Billy Budd, Foretopman” by Herman Melville, is young, strong and handsome, and is Foretopman of H. M. S. “Indomitable.” For some mysterious reason he is disliked and despised by Claggart, Master-at-Arms and makes a serious allegation against him. The captain conducts an enquiry and gives a fair chance to both the accused and the complainant to make their points. Almost like in a Greek tragedy, Billy Budd, in a fit of fury, gives a single, strong blow to Claggart which results in his instantaneous death. The captain, for all the affection he has for Billy Budd and thoroughly convinced that he is innocent, nevertheless holds court and himself becomes the witness. The guilty man is hanged.

 

            This novel may be short and even great but how it can be called modern is beyond this reviewer’s comprehension. The narration is archaic and circumlocutary.

 

            “Noon Wine” by Katherine Anne porter is a moving story of Mr. Thompson who employs Mr. Helton in his dairy and is thoroughly satisfied with his work though Helton is inexplicably, even exasperatingly, stiff and reticent. Mr. Hatch finds Helton and says he was a lunatic. In trying to take him away by force, he is resisted and accidentally killed by Thompson. Although acquitted by the court, everybody in his neighbourhood begins to treat and look at him strangely. Even his own wife and young sons do not believe his innocence wholly. Frustrated, he commits suicide.

 

            “The Overcoat,” by Nikoloy Gogol, has earned a handsome tribute from Dostoievsky that all Russian writers were descended from Gogol’s “Overcoat.” A devoted copyist in an office acquires a new overcoat after a great deal of trouble and sacrifice and uses it tenderly and zealously. But, as irony would have it, the overcoat is stolen from him forcefully and he dies a dejected man, almost pining away for it. The story is absorbing and has rich humour.

 

            In “Pilgrim Hawk” Glenway Wescott portrays the picture of a man whose wife not only keeps a hawk as her pet but dotes on in almost to the point of ignoring her husband’s wants. The husband naturally gets wild with the bird and attempts stealthily to get rid of it but in vain–only to aggravate and exacerbate his wife’s agony and anger.

 

            William Faulkner, the author of “Bear”, is a Nobel laureate (Literature, 1949). In this story he describes the growth of a young boy through various experiences. Although the language is rich and refined there is some kind of wooliness about the narrations.

 

            In fine, not all the entries in this collection deserve tile epithet ‘great.’     

–K. V. SATYANARAYANA

 

Best Short Stories of O. Henry. Published by Pearl Publications Private Ltd., Bombay-1. Pp. 287. Price: Rs. 2.

 

            From the famous writer’s prodigious literary output, as many as 38 stories are selected for this volume. O. Henry is the pseudonym of the writer whose real name was William Sydney Porter. “The Gift of the Magi”, “The Furnished Room”, “An Unfinished Story” and “The Last Leaf” are among the best and most widely read of his stories and they are given in the present book also. Not that others are wanting in some admirable qualify. In fact “The Cop and the Anthem” and “A Harlem Tragedy”, for example, which are also found in the book, are no less enchanting and entertaining. Only, the first list of stories have some sort of a classical value in comparison.

 

            What a reader of the stories finds is that O. Henry’s outstand­ing qualities are brevity, ingenuity of plot and surprise ending. O. Henry uses words like a master craftsman and a writer of lesser repute and audacity would hesitate to use the particular words for describing the contexts.     

–K. V. SATYANARAYANA

 

Problems of Linguistic States in India: by Dr. Krishna Kodesia. Sterling Publishers, Jullunder. Price: Rs. 15.

 

            When we remember that according to the census of 1901, we have 179 languages and 544 dialects in India, the problem of linguistic states may be stated to have just begun. Mahatma Gandhi no doubt supported the idea of linguistic states, but what the linguistic protagonists have done is to lean on him for the eminence of his support and not for the “Redistribution” that would militate against the organised unity of India “...if such province began to look upon itself as a separate sovereign unit, India’s independence will lose its meaning and with it will vanish the freedom of the various units as well... it would be fatal if it (linguistic distribution) led to narrow provincialism, mutual bickerings and rivalries. The world outside does not know us as Gujaratis, Maharashtrians or Tamilians but only as Indians. We must, therefore, resolutely discourage all fissiparous tendencies and, feel and behave as Indians.” (Harijan 1-2-1948)

 

            As against these thoughts of Gandhiji, what has taken place starting with Andhra, in the matter of linguistic egoism, Dr. Krishna has very objectively brought out in her treatise. The book is very informative with copious references, and lets out very candidly what may ultimately result in an India which got independence as a single unit proving the adage–divided you are weak and united you are impregnable. The chapter on newly-demanded states is very revealing as to the narrow parochialism even as the chapter on the problem of linguistic redistribution predicts the chronic state it may develop to. She has been very painstaking and through she exhibits an anxiety for the preservation of our national integrity.

 

            If our politicians could change their parochial outlook and cry halt to this fanaticism, the author would feel highly gratified. Indeed, her feeling would be, she has earned her reward for having done a real national service. If, however, the tendency for separatism continues, she has indicated in unmistakable terms, the dissolution of India into as many tiny parcels as there are languages and dialects. There cannot be two yardsticks in this matter.

 

            The volume is well got up and the print makes reading easy and in effect lightens the otherwise heavy matter. All politicians will do well to own a copy at least as a reference book. None can have a grievance against the author, for there is not even an iota of partisanship in expressing her views.

–R. V. NARAYAN

 

Kailasam and I: by M. Sivaram. Published by the Koravanji Karyalaya, Bangalore. Price: Rs. 6.

 

            This is a book of reminiscences on T. P. Kailasam, the great pioneer of social drama in modern Kannada. The author, who is a practising doctor and a well-known humorous writer in Kannada, narrates in the book how he was drawn to Kailasam and many incidents of a personal nature which bring out the many-sided personality of Kailasam–his ready wit, his sociability, his conversational powers and his Bohemian life, etc. Kailasam, the man, is already a legend in the Kannada country and a respectable amount of literature has grown round him, to which this authentic record by a devotee, himself a person of wit and humour, is a valuable oontribution.

–K. S. G.

 

TELUGU

 

Andhra Rasagangaadharamu: translated and with original commentary by Sri Vedala Thiruvengslacharya. A. P. Sahitya Academy, Hyderabad-4. 259 pages. Price: Rs. 6.

 

            While the value of Sanskrit poetics as a discipline cannot be underestimated its usefulness to the modern reader would seem to lie in its study as aesthetics. Among the hundreds of writers on poetics only a few have shown themselves to have been cognisant of aesthetic problems as such. The rest stuck to its grammaticological basis and its accent of Rhetorics. Kuntaka, Ruyyaka, Abhinavagupta, Anandavardhana, Rajasekhara and Jagannatha  certainly brought an aesthetic approach to bear on their observations and discussions.

 

            Jagannatha Pandita was the last of the great writers on Sanskrit poetics. A polemical writer with a highly dialectic approach his work Rasagangaadhara is important for having made quite a few points which are aesthetically relevant. It defines poetic charm as the poetic imagination with reference to the of poetic production. Defining a Kaavya in terms of the word propounding a delectable sense it correlates the idea of camatkaara with vaicitrya or vicchitti of the aalamkaarika school thus completing the description of Viswanatha. Rejecting Viswanatha’s definition of Kaavya based on rasa only it gives a more comprehevsive one. It distinguishes a literary work of art from music and dance by not accepting asvaada udbodhakatva and rasa udbodhakatva as bases of its definition. Its clear perception of the manifestation of self-cognition and rasa as the two distinct but simultaneous facets of aesthetic experience is in itself very significant. While Abhinavagupta described aesthetic experience as veeta vighna prateeti through caarvana, Rasagangaadhara elucidates it as bhagnaavaranaa cit. Shedding tears in an aesthetic experience is explained as due to the nature of the experience of particular pleasure and not due to pain.

 

            The work under review, a translation of Rasagangaadhara into Telugu with a copious original commentary by name ‘Sarvani’ comes from the seasoned hand of Sri Vedala Thiruvengalacharya whose magnum opus Andhra Dhvanyaaloka and other works are familiar to the Telugu literateurs. Sri Acharya’s work is important in two ways. It seeks to correct certain postulates and ideas found in the commentary of Nagesa Bhatta as also some points made by Gangadhara Sastry and Madhuranatha Sastry. Secondly it is no easy task to make the dialectic of the argument in the text clear to the modern reader. The author has succeeded in making the import of the textual argument as lucid as possible. One will find a lot of useful material very valuable to the advanced student. In refuting Nagesa Bhatta and others to establish the intention of Jagannatha, Sri Acharya’s conduct of the argument is very scintillating no doubt but one would think suaviter would have sufficied where caustic or sircastic remarks are made. However, there are two points on which Nagesa Bhatta has come under fire from the author. Nagesa’s attempt to justify the Sabdaarthanishtata of Kaavya and his hypothetical observation that it might be possible to supply a distinguishing quality (vailakshanya) to aesthetic relish (asvaada). A modern aesthetic contemplator would perhaps argue the points in favour of Nagesa on the following lines: A literary work of art as an aesthetic object implies poetic diction for emotive purposes. And poetic diction, in the main, has to be Sabdaanuroopa artha and arthaanuroopa sabda whose existence has been implicitly agreed to by aalamkaarikaas. Such word and sense as also the expressed part (the grammaticological meaning of the poem) and the unexpressed part (such as rasa and dhvani) act and interact as mutual complementaries. Since they are not mutually exclusive to the contemplator they constitute an integral whole. It is in this context that Jagannatha’s eko nadaaviti vyavahaara seems to go off the mark. Secondly since a literary work of art uses conventional language as its medium its verifiable truth or falsehood, sincerity or insincerity continues to influence the affect and saahitya laabha of the contemplator so long as his antahkarana vrittis are functioning in the process. This lends a distinguishing quality to asvaada at least to a major part of it. Or else it would become difficult to account for individual preferences as between Manu and Vasu charitrams where one will find all other aesthetic criteria common and equal to both.

           

            The book is certainly a very valuable addition to the existing literature on the subject, but on the mechanical side it needs a little editing in as much as the modern reader is accustomed to neat arrangement of matter, punctuation, indices, etc.

–PROF. SALVA KRISHNAMURTHI

 

Ritu Suktam: by Nandula Gopalakrishna Murty, Ramaraopet, Kakinada. Price: Rs. 2-50.

 

            Within the span of one hundred and fifty pages the author has attempted to show how the poets of Andhra from Nannaya to Viswanatha have reacted to the cycle of seasons. Nature has always provided a colourful backdrop to the human drama depicted by poets. During the heydays of the romantic period in Andhra, poets tried to look at Nature from a subjective point of view deviating from the beaten track of convention. The author has not only catalogued the descriptions but also added his own comments upon the impact of the seasons on the sensitive minds of the poets whose vision can perceive “a world in a grain of sand and Heaven in a wild flower.” While he has taken care to refer to the works of minor poets, it is a pity that no mention has been made of the works of Kavikondala Venkatarao and Jashuva who stand pre-eminent among our Nature-poets. In their inspired work we find much refreshing originality of approach and novelty of treatment. The vast panorama of Nature including the recurring miracle of the changing seasons is exquisitely reflected in the poems of Jashuva whom no literary chronicler can afford to miss.

 

Katha Mandaram: edited by Utukuri Lakshmikantamma. Published by Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Akademi, Hyderabad. Price: Rs. 3.

 

            This anthology of twelve short stories written by some of the leading women-writers is a commendable volume of two hundred and fifty pages ably edited by Srimati Lakshmikantamma and aptly dedicated to Dr. B. Gopala Reddi who continues to be a perpetual source of inspiration to writers. Writers like Saradadevi, Ranganayakamma, Krishnakumari, Bhanumati, and Sitadevi find representation in this anthology which illustrates insight into the complex human nature as well as a sure sense of form attained by the practitioners of the short story which offers emotional snap-shots of life instead of presenting the panorama of events on a vast canvas in a leisurely fashion. All the stories in this anthology stir our hearts by emotional appeal and leave an indelible impress upon the mind, when we conclude reading with a deep sigh. Though there is variety, there is also an identity of tone and tenor because the approach is largely sentimental. Touch of humour, which is the balance wheel of human emotions, would have provided tragic relief to these serious stories that cause high emotional tension.

–DR. C. N. SASTRI

 

Mottamodati Kanyaasulkam: (First edition of “Kanyasulkam”) by Gurazada Appa Rao. Scholars’ edition. Published by B. Gopala Reddy, Assistant Editor, “Zamin Ryot”, Nellore, (Andhra Pradesh). Pages 34+72+174. Price: Rs. 5.

 

            Gurazada Appa Rao is considored to be the Father of the Modern Telugu Literature. He wrote the play “to advance the cause of social reform and to combat at a popular prejudice that Telugu language was unsuited to the stage.” It is the first work in the spoken dialect and has proved to be a great success. Though the drama deals mainly with evils (like acceptance of bride’s money, child marriage, widow re-marriage, abolition of prostitution as a social institution) that existed in the contemporary Indian society in the last century, the manner in which the problems were tackled, the characters that were moulded out of the dramatic material, their dialogues and the resultant emotions are of an everlasting appeal. No less a critic than Dr. C. R. Reddy said that “Kanyaasulkam remains a masterpiece in the difficult field of social satire.”

 

            Kanyaasulkam is a modern classic and the publisher deserves the gratitude of the Andhras for reprinting the first edition (after 72 years!) and for preserving it for posterity. The introduction and the appendices throw new light and are highly valuable.

–BHAVARAJU

 

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