REVIEWS
On Education: by Mulk Raj Anand. (Published by Hind Kitabs Ltd., Bombay, 1947. Pp.
59; Price Re. 1/6/-)
This essay on educational reconstruction in India
by the famous Indian novelist and writer is an appeal to the ‘under forties’ to
re-think our problems free from the incubus of ‘tired old half-dead men’,
‘fossilised minds bred In a feudal-cum-servile colonial structure of society’
and ‘power-crazed politicians of New Delhi’. The style is, therefore, indignant
and emphatic and, at times, even one-sided and incoherent. After a rapid survey
of various schemes of ‘national education’ adumbrated in India in the last
half-century, the author launches upon a criticism of the Wardha Scheme and its
‘inner reasons’. According to him, it destroys the basic assumption of learning
by doing; it tries to realise an utopian Ram-raj; it aims at the production of
good little village morons; the authoritarian religion which Gandhiji exalts,
and the doctrine of sexual control which he preaches, ignore the deeper
creative urges of man; it seeks to build an India living in complete isolation
from a militarized world; the scheme does, not give any chance whatever to the
development of human personality; Gandhiji’s mechanical idealism will only
amass a nation of ‘dead souls’. This is, indeed, an omnibus and rather purblind
accusation, and Mr. Mulk Raj Anand has followed it up, not by a detailed scheme
of his own for national education, but a plea for the introduction of art in
primary schools (vide Sections VI and VII of the Basic Education
Curriculum, prepared by the Zakir Hussain Committee) and a note on Child Art by
Sri Pulin Bihari Dutt!
The Ayah and Other Stories: by Gertrude Murray. (Published by Hind Kitabs
Ltd., Bombay, 1947. Pp 136; Price Rs. 2/-)
This collection contains eight stories of which
three are on facets of Indian life, but all deal with the elemental pangs of
the human soul, traced deftly and delicately, in a sisterly mood of sympathy.
Each story has a distinct individuality and, though ‘The Quest of the Modern
Girl’ is definitely below the level of the rest, it is difficult to decide
which among the others should have the honour of the title role. ‘The Ayah’ is
a vivid and poignant picture of silent suffering, but ‘Cowards die many times’
surpasses it in portraiture. The deserter from wedlock fleeing from the
death-bed of his woman, pursued by the sharp piercing cry of his child, is an
unforgettable cad. The tragedy of the half-wit Jacques with his ‘perpetually
far-away look’ and his infatuation for the Waxen Lady Berengere, the regaining
by the Christian widow of all her old interest in living, the strange
fascination of Anna for the ruddy male which leapt over political frontiers,
and the silly escapade of a frustration-ridden Balkan typist with an Eastern
Prince, are all related by the authoress with inimitable skill and brevity.
This brevity, it must be mentioned, has marred the excellence of the last story
in the book, ‘Shadow and Substance’ which centres round the conversion of ‘The
Blonde Lily’ of Hollywood. A few more paragraphs to elaborate the subtlety with
which Svensen, the idealist author, aroused the sincerity of the butterfly
would have given the reader greater satisfaction. But, reviewers, I forget,
have no right to dictate.
India of My Dreams: by M. K. Gandhi (compiled by R. K. Prabhu; with a
Foreword by Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Publishers: Hind Kitabs Ltd., Bombay, 1947.
Price Rs. 2/-)
This will serve the purpose of an authentic
hand-book of Gandhiji’s principles and plans for the reconstruction of India’s
national life, set down in the Mahatma’s own words. In the words of Dr.
Rajendra Prasad: “It places before the readers not only those basic and
fundamental principles but also indicates how we can help to fulfil them
through our freedom by establishing a polity and social life, and through the
instrumentality of a constitution and the dedication of the human material
which this vast country will now throw up, to work without any external fetters
or internal inhibitions.” While there is no doubt about the homage universally
paid to Gandhiji as the ‘Father of the Nation’ and the ‘Liberator of India’,
and the reverence and adoration showered upon him on account of his moral and
spiritual eminence, his ideas regarding the reconstruction of India’s social,
economic and political life–his views, for instance, on Khadder and village
industries, basic education, and national language and script, do not command
equally spontaneous acceptance and are often looked upon as ‘fads’. It is
fashionable, sometimes, to speak of him as a matchless social reformer, and a
powerful moral force–but an idealist, not to be taken seriously in regard to
details of practical politics. Such mental reservation has usually
characterised the approach of many Indian intellectuals to Gandhiji’s economic
precepts. Now that freedom is won and the re-ordering of Indian economic and
political life is imminent and has to be immediately undertaken by the leaders
of the country, with the intelligent co-operation of a free people, Gandhian
ideology awaits to be put to a practical test. Many items of Gandhiji’s
Constructive Programme have already begun to be implemented by most of the
Provincial Governments, but there are still other items remaining to be tackled
in the light of Gandhiji’s teachings, These relate chiefly to the
decentralisation of industry and the revival of will republics, which would
indeed ultimately result in a revolutionary change of Indian national life. In
spite of the fact that Gandhiji’s writings have enjoyed great publicity, there
is nevertheless need for a reiteration of the principles and the arguments that
have motivated the heroic work of Gandhiji and his faithful band of workers
during the last 25 years. The assiduity and the devotion of the compiler have
enabled him to present in a compact form the shape of things to come, such as
Gandhiji would desire to see established in the country.
The Publishers and the compiler deserve all praise
for this timely publication, and one hopes that editions of this excellent
brochure would be made available in all the Indian languages as well, to serve
more fully and effectively the purpose they have in view.
K.S.G.
An Artist’s Miscellany: by ‘Kumara Guru’ (R. Venkateswara & Co.,
Madras, price Rs. 3/-)
The book is a collection of 24 essays written by
the author, a retired Government Official–in whose blood, we are told, “run
three currents of intellect: mathematics, music and chemistry”–at various
times, and contributed to various journals, or delivered as discourses before
Youngmen’s Associations. These writings of a typical English-educated, South
Indian intellectual of the later Victorian period, cover a wide field,–English
literature, particularly such as College text-books provide for the painstaking
student whose interest in them survives the examination, Sociology and
Aesthetic criticism. The autobiographical and the psycho-analytical strain
often running through these essays is sometimes too obtrusive and tends
occasionally to make the writing somewhat boring and morbid. There is often a
lot of pointless piffle as, for instance, when in the essay with the imposing
title ‘Mathematics and the way of life’ the author writes of the different
units of weight and measurement current in different parts of India! Music and
musical criticism, however, appear to be Kumara Guru’s forte, and the
essays dealing with Thyagaraja, Dikshitar and South Indian Music (about a third
of the book) show a firmer tread and make more interesting reading.
K. S. G.
Freedom Come: By Harindranath Chattopadhyaya. Decorations by K. K. Hebbar–(15thAugust
1947. Nalanda Publications, Bombay.)
Harindranath’s work usually glows with genuine
inspiration and the fervour and daring idealism of youth. But in this song,
where the Poet greets the dawn of Indian Freedom, one notes with regret a
certain flatness, and a lack of fire, only occasionally relieved by flashes of
impassioned poetry. Though Harindranath is not here in his ‘form’ he gives
noble expression to the hope that although our freedom has been won at
tremendous cost–breaking up the unity of our Motherland so dear to us and
causing heartbreak and suffering to the millions–we will ultimately come
together as brothers re-uniting after a brief separation, and realise this
unity in terms of the happiness and prosperity of the common masses. All this
joyous celebration will be worth while if we pledge that
‘Not one stomach shall starve or sense despair,
And not one body go unclothed and bare’
There is also a moving tribute to the life and work of Gandhiji–
‘A lonely wanderer now across the country,
Footsore, flesh-weary, a spirit as yet unbroken.’
H. G. S.
Sudden Prospect and other Poems: by Gopal N. Nilaver. (Hosali Press, Bangalore,
Price Rs. 3/-)
Here is a collection of about 70 poems written in
various moods. Most of them are short ones–and are in the nature of poetic
exercises by one who is sensitive to the beauty of the earth and thrills to the
joys and sorrows of human life. There is no message, no ‘ism’, no pose or
crusading passion such as modern poets who leap into print usually exhibit, to
catch the attention of a wearied world. For, according to the writer, the
Poet’s mission is that
He cares not who hears, he must bring
The Promethean fire to earth, though he burn his
wings!’
‘Let us not forget that each human fear
Can be weighed against a crumbling empire’s fear
And is more worthy the chronicle, more dear’,
says the poet in another poem.
The writer has experimented with different kinds of
verse-patterns, and commands a diction adequate for his purposes. We trust the
author will attempt bigger things.
Hindustani Sikshak: by M. Hanumantha Rao. (Hindi Pracharak,
Narasaraopet, Guntur Dt. Price: Re 1/-)
This is a Hindi- Telugu Primer compiled by an
experienced Hindi teacher. The Telugu script is used throughout in addition to
the Nagari script. The conjugations of verbs under different tenses, the
derivations of nouns with their different case-endings, the formation of prepositional
and post-positional phrases, the pronoun forms which are a peculiarity of the
language and require to be mastered at the early stages,–all these are
presented and drilled in graded lessons. The exposition of grammatical rules,
usually the headache of the young, is almost eliminated–and the aim throughout
is practical, so as to provide a working knowledge by riveting attention on the
characteristic phrase and sentence patterns in Hindi. The range of vocabulary
covered by the book is fairly wide and adequate for ordinary practical
purposes. The author deserves to be congratulated on bringing out such a useful
publication.