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.
