U.R.Ananthamurthy

U.R.Ananthamurthy, like the other Kannada intellectuals, deliberately relooked at our established concepts, ideologies, structures and practices analyzing their validity in the contemporary world. As far as Indian post colonialism is concerned, it has imbibed western values, and has negotiated with western ideologies in a deep manner. India has welcomed democracy, equality and other systems of egalitarianism. Translations of Indian writings into English have introduced the cultural artifacts of Indian States to fellow States. English has networked Indian sub-continent with a pan-Indian framework. At this context U.R.Ananthamurthy’s works gain significance, as they reveal a Nietzschean attitude to society.

Nietzsche located himself outside the Greco-Roman-Christian intellectual framework, and questioned the established concepts of Europe. It took almost a century for people to understand the significance of his words. Nietzsche argued for a self-critical mode of thinking. He wanted us to check ourselves, especially, when we are in the Right. All the English translated works of URA reflect this ideology of self-criticism. Concepts that have been accepted socially as ‘superior’ have to re-examine themselves. What has been traditionally accepted as ‘Right’ cannot be left out without an assessment. We have to constantly question our stand, our attitudes and our approach. Otherwise, we will be led into the danger of narrowness, dogmatism and even being fundamental. Society has to renew itself to sustain its development.

Samskara poses certain crucial questions: Can’t a man change his caste? Is caste a permanent mark that cannot be changed? What about people who find the rules of a particular caste rigid that they find it difficult to follow? Bhava studies the complex human mind caught in social traditions. It locates these individuals in a morally backward situation. It is as if to prove that man, even in highly disciplined settings, still breaks the rules established by society. The novel moves in a Hawthornian style as seen in The Scarlet Letter, dealing with aspects of guilt, amorality and kinship. Bharathipura reads more like Raja Rao’s Serpent and Rope, negotiating Eastern values with Western values. The mainstream society is described with an ironic, mildly satiric tone, looking at India with western eyes.

 We can describe URA as a writer who wanted to contextualize Indian society in a global framework. He thought that mainstream culture has to become self-critical, so that society evolves further in a more egalitarian way. He has tried to deconstruct rigid structures to achieve this. He has helped us understand that behind massive structures of social supremacy, there are ordinary men and women leading ordinary lives.