A reading, between two modes

Shivaram Karanth’s Marali Mannige is the saga of three generations of a family. But is it just that?

June 09, 2016 06:19 pm | Updated October 18, 2016 12:38 pm IST - Bengaluru

It all began at a recent discussion among a group of friends. How do we read a novel? The primary mode is the common reader’s approach: where the reader and his reading is autonomous. The other tried and tested mode is reading with the tools of literary criticism, much of which comes from the Western schools. The conversation took an unexpected leap. This leap referred to what we can perhaps call as ‘organic’ reading, which is the traditional method, free from western theories. The friend asked: “Why must we read all literature as socio-political texts? He argued that if aesthetic experience continues to be the core of all art, then mustn’t our readings also be guided by a different aesthetics?” We have to read it the Kavya (Indian Poetics) way, he emphasized, which, as David Shulman says, is about a “counter world” that we create in response to this world. If this counter-world carries the genesis of rasa in us, why then is the Kavya way of reading considered outmoded? Why do we not foreground rasanubhava , but almost always judge texts only with tools of the real world?

I second his case. Literary texts are not dry, anthropological data; they emerge from dynamic spaces which includes the human mind as well. So, if we choose to fix our readings into a certain pattern, it indicates the loss of a certain kind of literacy, and more. The Telugu scholar Velcheru Narayan Rao had observed in a talk: “We are worried about who wrote the book, where he lived but not about how it should be read,” which has led to homogenization of reading and meaning. He added: “If you cannot enjoy a poem for its own sake, but are always thinking of its hidden meanings, you must stop reading poetry.” With these thoughts in my mind, I set out to ‘re-read’ the colossus of Kannada literature, Shivaram Karanth’s mega novel, Marali Mannige. I hazard a hybrid modus operandi – a co-reading of the several possibilities of reading.

Karanth’s canvas is huge. It is the story of three generations of an agrarian Brahmin family living in a village by the sea, spanning a period of almost six decades. In this long period of time, several changes take place impacting both life and living. Karanth portrays the coming of several modernities and curiously watches the manner in which his characters respond. In what can be called a dense interlacing, Karanth juxtaposes the outer world with the inner texts of his characters. For Parvati, Saraswati, Satyabhame, Nagaveni, Krishnaveni, Bachchi, Vasudevayya the altering realities of the exterior life doesn’t alter their essence. This is true of characters like Lachcha and Orata Mayya too, their inner selves show no signs of metamorphoses even with changing reality. The struggle of the former is to live up to the values they have set for themselves despite their most unremarkable lives. The latter however wear an untroubled conscience in all circumstances.

Karanth creates a powerful context and location for his characters, he dislodges them from it too. For him, it is essentially the study of human nature -- he extols its beauty and condemns its vileness. He describes the picturesque grandeur of the physical landscape, but his inclination is in exploring the human conscience itself. Without the ponderous bearing of a social commentator, he tells the story of Marali Mannige with a simplicity that’s hard to achieve. You become part of the counter world Karanth creates – laughing, crying, despising and loving, along with him.

If Kavya is about the richness of storytelling, if Kavya is about embellishment ( alankara ) – then Marali Mannige has it all. It is also about a society in flux, and hence overlooking either of these perspectives may leave our reading incomplete.

Just on Marali Mannige alone, there are critical essays of nearly 7000 pages. But the one that I attempt here, is certainly not a conventional response, it is based more on the thoughts that surface when one revisits the text. Let me try to elucidate my point with one example and how it toggles between two modes of reading.

Marali Mannige in my opinion is Karanth’s tribute to women. He cannot conceal his admiration for the resilience and fervour with which these women keep the continuity of life. He creates a whole range of women – the widow Saraswati, the unquestioning wife Parvati, the strong willed and genuinely empathetic Nagaveni, Bachchi who never loses compassion and loyalty even in the face of adversity…. and so on. The portrayal of the toiling lives of Saraswati and Parvati is sheer poetry – their grating everydayness, the hardships of their life, yet their joy and deep companionship is poignant. They define themselves by what they do for their household, and derive self-esteem from their relentless toil. No sloganeering, no shrill moments, but Karanth through the patriarch Rama Aithal quietly acknowledges that without the toil of these women his household would be in doldrums. The women who come from this world don’t have much agency. But their love, tolerance, courage and determination of these women not only become the pillars of Rama Aithal’s household, but Karanth’s novel itself. The writer in my opinion uses the physical world like an illusion – what he seeks to actually do is take us through their interior selves. In a way, Karanth explores the multiple possibilities of present time in the present itself. In these many generations of women, one sees the constant negotiation of the larger understanding of “kriyagnana” (fulfilment through right action) with the more sophisticated notion of “selfhood”. It is evident how Karanth deals with the character of Nagaveni differently from that of Saraswati and Parvati. Her creative self cannot be satiated by fulfilling duties of the household alone, she moves to the world of books and music.

Not even once, does Karanth describe the beauty of his women. At best, he says ‘she was glowing with good health’ or ‘she was all skin and bone’. Karanth’s idea of beauty is elsewhere – it need not necessarily be “sarvalankarabhooshite” or “nirabharana sundari”. Without any of these often used embellishments, he creates an idea of beauty that is unique. If Karanth intended to evoke sociology alone, would the text have taken you to the pinnacle of emotional experience?

Karanth had this rare ability that no other contemporary writer can even imagine. He could dictate entire novels to a scribe without pausing. The good old poets of the Kavya tradition too “ spoke ” their books and dictated it to a scribe who wrote them, beginning with Vyasa. Karanth of progressive thinking and scientific temper was from this world, he intensely responded to its travails and turmoils, remained troubled by it, but never lost sight of the beauty of the world that came to him as inheritance. Marali Mannige according to me, is a perfect blend of two possibilities of reading. His printed words carry the memory of the dynamism of oral texts.

In an essential rasanubhava , can you separate thought from meaning. Can beauty exist without form? To reduce the world of Karanth to drab sociology, or to not see him using the world as a springboard to make a creative leap, both are distressing. In our ultimate analysis, both language and thought must keep growing.

This response is just an evocation.

(Classics Revisited is a monthly column.)

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.