A Note on Sri Rajaji’s “Stories for the innocent” (Part--I)

 

                                  

               

Sri. C. Rajagopalachari (1878-1972) called as Rajaji, is mostly well-known for his English books on “The Ramayana” and “The Mahabharata.” He worked in various important positions and showed his efficiency and mettle as the leader of Congress Party, as the first Indian Governor-General of free India, as the Governor of West Bengal and as Minister for Home affairs of the Indian Union and as the Chief Minister of Madras State. He founded the Swantantra party in 1959.He was also one of the founders of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. He wrote both in Tamil and English on various topics. In 1951 Rajai wrote an abridged version of the Mahabharata and translated Kambar’s Tamil Ramayana into English in 1961. He wrote more than thirty books in English. Some of the famous books are: The Bhagavadgita, Socrates, Marcus Aurelius, Ramakrishna Upanishad, Hinduism, Doctrine and Way of Life, Our Democracy and other essays, Our Culture, Stories for the innocent etc.,   Many of the books were published by Bharatiya Bhavan. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for his works in the Tamil languiage for his re-telling of the Ramayana in 1958.  He was the first recipient of Bharat Ratna in 1954. Rajagopalachari often regarded his literary works as the best service he rendered to the people.

In "Stories for the innocent” (1964) consisting of thirty-seven short stories, we can see his realistic portrayal of middle class and lower-class sections of society of Tamil Nadu during his time. 

In “Ardhanari”, a pariah boy from Kokkali in Salem District lied about his caste as a Saiva Mudaliar thinking that he might be ill-treated if he revealed about his caste. Govinda Rao, his senior, impressed by his disposition and manners, decided to marry his sister, Pankaja, with Ardhanari though he knew that he belonged to another caste. Ardhanari neglected his parents thinking that his would-be bride would reject him if he took her to his native village. He lied that there was a severe epidemic of cholera in his village. Unexpectedly Cholera broke out in his village, and he lost his mother and brother. Only his father, a drunkard, remained alive. He delayed deliberately his trip to his village. He refused to take his father with him. Later he felt guilty, and he went back to Salem. By that time his father committed suicide by drowning himself in a well. he did not go to see his father’s dead body. He went back to Bangalore and confessed to Pankajam about his real caste and told her that he was a liar and was a murderer and asked not to marry him. ‘You do not mind my caste, I know. But I am a murderer. I have killed my father and mother.” He resigned his job, became an ascetic (Samiar) and conducted a school in the Mariamman temple.

 In the story “The Fatal Cart” the writer portrays the evil effects of drinking and its impact on domestic and economic status. Karuppan, not satisfied with his humble cottage and field, planned to buy Veeran’s cart and earn more money though his wife, Parvati, was against his plan. He borrowed money and spent all his savings in buying the cart. Along with other drivers he also became addicted to drinking. As his bullocks became old, he sold them and bought a new pair of bullocks with the money saved by Parvati. The zamindar took away one of his bullocks as Karuppan did not pay back his loan. He was forced to take loan from Qadr Khan to pay the debt to Zamindar. He became addicted to drink again. Parvati’s only child died of fever suddenly.  She was forced to work as a laborer at the site where Qadr Khan was building a new house.  Qadr Khan’s son attracted by Parvati, tried to seduce her. He threatened her to pay back the loan. She yielded to him at last in a weak moment. Karuppan saw them both in his house. In a fit of rage, he wounded Qadr Khan with his sickle. Parvati and Karuppan were arrested by police. Karuppan’s father and brother sold away his cart to meet legal expenses. They also pawned Parvati’s buffalo. To go to sessions court, they sold his bullocks also. Parvati was looked down by all an unchaste woman who cheated her husband. Qadr Khan won the case, and Karuppan was imprisoned for six years. Parvati was released bur she had nowhere to go. Her sister-in-law drove her away when she sought shelter. To end her ignominy and her troubles she climbed the temple hill and jumped from there. “The soul of Parvati escaped from its cage of misery.”

 In the story “Guilt wiped off “the writer shows the character of Ramakrishnaaiyar, a high court official, who forgave a servant boy for stealing two silver tumblers and a cup. He did not even file a complaint to the police. When his wife asked the reason, he confessed that he had also committed theft when he was a poor boy staying in a rich man’s house to pursue his studies in Kumbakonam. He stole cash from the rich man’s coat to satisfy his hunger. The rich man suspected his servant boy and dismissed him from service after thrashing him severely. Ramakrishnaiyar felt ashamed of his theft and felt sorry for the poor servant boy who suffered for no fault of his own. He decided not to steal anything further. After so many years he found an opportunity to atone for his sin by forgiving the poor boy who might have committed theft to quench his hunger. He thought that Goddess had heard his prayer and wiped of his sins after thirty years.

 Same sense of guilt and repentance is seen in “Judge Jayaraman Ayiar’s penance”. The judge sentenced Veeran, a twenty-year old young man, to four years of rigorous imprisonment for commiting a small theft for the second time. The judge’s wife, Kanakambal, asked her husband why he gave such a severe punishment to such a young boy for a small crime. The judge defended his act saying that an old offender must be awarded a severe sentence. His wife reminded him that the judge had also stolen money when he was staying at the house of Miradar Ramaswami Aiyar, a rich friend of his father, in Mayavaram. As he was a poor boy, he had no money to buy anything to quench his hunger. He stole a ten-rupee note form the coat pocket of Raswami Aiyar’s son-in-law. Ramaswami suspected that his servant boy or the sweeper might have stolen the money. But Kanakambal thought both were innocent. She noticed a new penknife and a new pen in Jayaraman’s pocket and asked him from where he got money to buy those things. He gave an evasive reply. He wrote a letter to his father that he was not treated properly and was suspected when someone has stolen the money. His father shifted Jayaraman to a rented room. Jayaraman felt guilty on remembering his crime. He dreamt that he was charged with theft and was being taken to jail while his wife was weeping. He got up and thanked God that he was saved from punishment. He thought that he was not fit to act as judge. He sent in his resignation letter and decided to go to Rishikesh and stay there to atone for his sin. He went to Samiyar, his spiritual teacher, and told him about his theft and his decision to quit his job. Samiyar advised him to go back to duty and it was not right to grieve over a past crime. The Govt did not accept his resignation as he had a good reputation in service. Jayaraman frankly told the officer about his crime. The Govt transferred him from the magistrate to Civic Judiciary. Jayaraman used to send fifty rupees every month as a treat to the prisoners guilty of theft in the local jail as a penance for his past crime till his retirement. This story shows how no one is perfect in this world and criminals should be judged in a sympathetic manner.

In the story “Muttandi” the writer explored the loyal and selfless nature of a cook who worked in Kandasami Chettiar’s house for decades. As an unmarried person he lived a simple life and invested his savings in his village. After his master’s demise, his son Sankaran, a highly educated person employed him and increased his monthly salary. As a sub-collector Sankaran was transferred to Trichy where he fell in love with Radhamaniammal, a Naidu girl and married her. She did not like Sankaran treating Muttandi as a close family member. She used to find fault with Sankaran and treated him with contempt. Muttandi put up with her harsh treatment out of affection for Sankaran. She compelled Sankaran to dispense with Muttandi’s sevices on the pretext that he had become too old to work in their house. Sankaran gave Muttandi two hundred rupees and advised him to go to his village and settle down there. Radhamaniammal became furious when she came to know that Sankaran gave a large amount to Muttandi. Sankraan somehow pacified her. Meanwhile Sankaran’s wife became pregnant. After one year a son was born to them. One day Muttandi came suddenly to Sankaran’s house in Madurai. He was overjoyed to know about the birth of a son to his master. He took child in his lap and put two golden bangles on his wrists. Then he took leave of his master without eating anything. Radhamaniaamal realized Muttandi’s loyal and good nature and said, “The old man is a good fellow after all.” This story also shows that goodness is seen in all irrespective of their status and caste. One should not look down on others based on their low birth and poverty.

 

In "Swamiyar Nalli" the character of a selfless rickshaw-puller is described. Unlike his friends he did not drink or smoke. He was satisfied with what he earned. Every day before going for work, he used to pray before the portrait of Lord Hanuman on the neem tree. He used to take sick and pregnant people to hospital free of charge. His friends used to call him "Swamiyar Nalli". The news of his selfless service to sick people spread far and wide. Even Europeans used to come and see him. Nalli did not accept a single pie from them as a gift. Nalli's mother used to look with pity on him as he had to earn his living by pulling rickshaw like a bullock. Nalli believed that he was serving people who could not walk by taking them in his rickshaw. When hand-pulled rickshaws were banned by the Government, Nalli left the village. no one heard any news of him. Some said that he went to Polur to work in his uncle's farm. the story concludes with the message that goodness is seen even among the humblest people.

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  22nd August, 2024                                  Somaseshu Gutala

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

A Note on Carl Sandburg’s Poem “Chicago”

Chicago city

                                                                                                             

City of Steel industries

                                                                  

                                              

Carl Sandburg with his wife, Lilian Steichen

 This poem is an example of American modernist literature written in typical American style and was published along with other poems in the March 1914 edition of the magazine “Poetry”. In 1916 Sandburg republished it in his collection,” Chicago Poems”. Sandburg was influenced by the language of the Bible and the free verse of Walt Whitman. Sandburg adopted the cadence of everyday talk as a model for his poems. He favored free verse with loose rhythm as a good way to convey his thoughts and feelings. H.L. Mencken called Sandburg’s poems as “simple, eloquent and extraordinarily moving.” He used long and short lines and lists. The use of catalogue gives the poem a unique rhythm. Repetition of phrases like “laughing” at the beginning of a sentence is called anaphora.

The first stanza defines the poet’s impressions about Chicago where he worked as an editor for the “Chicago daily news.” It is the industrial and commercial hub of America’s midwestern region. It is the place where meat industry thrives, where various mechanical tools are manufactured and where wheat bags are stored and transported to east and western zones. The poet personifies Chicago as a rough, burly, energetic young man with broad shoulders. The poet aptly describes the city as a busy industrial city contributing much to the progress of the nation.

 In the next section the poet deals with the flaws and vices pointed out by others who found fault with Chicago having many vices like prostitution, sexual abuse, murderers who go unpunished, starving people and pangs of poverty. Though the poet acknowledges the flaws of the city, he defends the unique admirable qualities of his city. This shows his close intimacy and love he has for Chicago. In a lengthy verse paragraph, he portrays the vibrant image of a sturdy, industrious city ‘fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action”, “cunning as a savage pitted against wilderness”. The city is like a strong fighter who has never lost a battle. The city is like a bareheaded worker” shoveling, wrecking, planning, building, breaking and rebuilding”. The poet gives a long catalogue of verbs to describe the dynamic nature of the citizens. The image of a young laborer laughing with white teeth ‘under the smoke, dust all over his mouth” shows the bold, defiant nature of the city which never concedes defeat and is ready to fight against all odds.

Chicago reflects the temperament and mood of her inhabitants who mostly belong to middle class and lower-class cadres working in factories and business firms. In the last section the poet repeats the vibrant energetic, bold image of Chicago as a “laughing, half-naked, sweating, brawling youth” who is proud of his unique identity as “a Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of wheat and Player with railroad and Freight handler” working for the progress of the nation. The poem starts with capitals to emphasize the vital role of the city. This poem celebrates the vitality and strength of the city while acknowledging its flaws and challenges. He used vivid and unconventional imagery to portray the city and its people. He ultimately asserts that Chicago is a place of great importance and pride.

The poet used free verse but used many figurative devices like simile, metaphor and personification. The use of parallel structures, repetition of key phrases and words with American speech rhythm adds a sense of creative touch. The city is “fierce as a dog” and “cunning as a savage”. The poet calls the city “a young man” as it was founded only 1833 unlike other ancient cities. He uses personification characterizing the city as a living thing. The overall mood of the poem is one of praise and exuberance. Though it is brutal, cruel or wicked, the poet uses many phrases to show its important role in industry and trade as “the hog butcher of the world” and “stacker of wheat.” Though it is rough to look at, the poet describes the city as “the city of big shoulders”, “a place of strength, power, progress and potential.” Thus, this poem is a celebration of the poet's beloved city which represents boundless strength, dynamic energy, hard labor, zest and laughter.

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   13th August, 2024                       Somaseshu Gutala

                                

A Note on Carl Sandburg, The people’s poet

 

Carl August Sandburg (1878--1967)

                                                   

Sandburg's house, Flat Rock, North carolina

                                  

                   

Remembrance Rock, Galesburg

                      

Carl Sandburg is one of the most popular modern poets of America who won the Pulitzer Prize, two times for his poetry and once for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. As an American poet, biographer, social commentator, journalist and children’s story writer, he was regarded as a major figure in contemporary literature especially for his collected poems like “Chicago Poems”(1916), “Corn huskers” (1918), and “Smoke and Steel” (1920). He wrote four books for children: Rootbaga Stories” (1922), “Rootbaga Pigeons” (1923), “Rootbaga Country” (1929) and “Potato Face (1930) which are filled with fictional characters with a moral message. He modelled his fictional land based on the American Midwest.

 He was born on January 6, 1878, in Galesburg, Illinois. His parents August and Clara Johnson emigrated from the north of Sweden. His father worked as an assistant to a blacksmith in Chicago and Burlington. His early life exposed him to top struggles of life. He held various jobs including a farm laborer, brick layer, driver of a milk wagon, dishwasher and as a soldier. These experiences gave him an insight into the American life in various aspects. He developed ability to write verses that resonated with American speech. He covered a wide range of themes from the American landscape to struggles of working class.

 

 As his family was poor, Sandburg left the school at the age of thirteen and began driving a milk wagon. From the age of fourteen to eighteen, he worked as a porter at the Union Hotel barber shop in Galesburg.  Later he worked in milk industry for eighteen months.  Then he became a bricklayer and a farm laborer on the farms in Kansas. After a brief interval at Lombard college in Galesburg, he became a hotel servant in Denver and later a coal-heaver in Omaha. He started his career as a journalist for the Chicago Daily News. He spent most of his time in Illinois, Wisconsin before moving to North Carolina.

 

At the age of seventeen he served for eight months in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American war.  Later he continued his studies in Lombard for four years but could not receive his degree. After college Sandburg worked as an advertising writer and a newspaper reporter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There he met Lillian Steichen (1833-1977), whom he called Paula and married her. As a socialist sympathizer Sandburg worked for the Socialist-Democrat party and later acted as secretary to the first mayor of Milwaukee from 1910 to 1912. The Sandburgs moved to Harbert, Michigan and then to suburban Chicago, Illinois in 1912 where he became the editorial writer for the “Chicago Daily News.” He wrote poetry, history, biography, children’s stories and film reviews.  He collected and edited books of ballads and folklore.  They lived in Evanston, Illinois, before settling at south York Street in Elmhurst, Illinois from 1919 to 1930. Harriet Monroe impressed by the homely speech style of Sandburg written in Whitman-like free verse, published his poems in her journal “Poetry", a magazine of verse.

 

During this time Sandburg wrote Chicago Poems (1916), Corn huskers (1918), Smoke and steel (1920). He became famous with his collection “Chicago Poems (1916). He was awarded Pulitzer Prize in 1919 for his poetry “Corn huskers.” In 1920 he published “Smoke and Steel” where he found beauty in modern industrialism. The folk songs he sang were published in two collections: “The American Songbag” (1927) and “New American Songbag” (1950) as books for children. The family moved to Michigan in 1930.

 

Carl Sandburg, just like Walt Whitman, was an ardent admirer of Abraham Lincoln right from his boyhood. He meticulously collected material from different sources and published Lincoln biography in six volumes. He published “Linclon: The Prairie years” in 1926. In 1929 he published another biography about the life of his brother-in-law, "Steichen, the photographer." In 1932 he published “Mary Lincoln, wife and Widow” which shows his keen interest in Lincoln’s life and career. He published “Lincoln: The war years” (four volumes) in in 1939. He was awarded Pulitzer Prize for his biography “Lincoln: The war years” in 1940.  In 1948 Sandburg published a long novel "Remembrance Rock" which describes the American experience from Plymouth Rock to World War II.

In 1945 he moved to Connemara, a 246-acre rural estate in Flat Rock, North Carolina. Here he lived with his wife, three daughters and two grandchildren. On commemoration of 150^th birth anniversary of Lincoln’s birth on Feb.12, 1959, Congress met in joint session. Sandburg was given a chance to address the audience on this occasion. He received his third Pulitzer Prize for his “Complete Poems” in 1950. He published his final volumes of verse “Harvest Poems” in 1960 and ‘Honey and salt” in 1963. Carl Sandburg passed away on 22^nd July 1967 at his home in Flat Rock, North Carolina. His body was cremated, and ashes were interred beneath a red granite boulder "Remembrance Rock" in the Carl Sandburg Park, Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois. 

 

Lyndon Johnson, President of America, paid tribute to him saying” Carl Sandburg was more than the voice of America, more than the poet of its strength and genius, he was America.” Sandburg was inducted to the American Poets’ corner at the cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York in 2028.

His poetry is filled with sayings, scraps of anecdotes, conversations, and descriptions of steel mills and farms. He portrayed the living conditions of laborers, workers and their problems. He wrote nearly 1600 poems in his lifetime. Amy Lowell called “Chicago Poems” as “one of the original books this age has produced.” The historian Charles A. Beard called “Abraham Lincoln: the prairie years” a noble monument of American literature.” “Abraham Lincoln; The war years” (first two volumes) was published in 1939. These volumes cover the period from Lincoln’s birth till his election as president of America. These volumes focus mainly on the American civil war period.  He was awarded Pulitzer Prize in 1940 for this biography. A one volume edition was published in 1954. Sandburg collected and classified material for his biography for thirty years and it took another fifteen years to type the material on his typewriter. Americans learned about Lincoln more from Sandburg than from any other American. Some critics commented that his biography was not a well-researched and well-documented. It is neither biography nor history but sentimental poetizing.  But many readers view it as an American epic rather than as a mere biography.

 

He became famous as the singing bard of America with human-driven approach. He uses simple and straightforward language. His poetry bustles with the energy of skyscrapers, chorus girls, and corrupt mayors. His verse moves with the rhythmic pace of Jazz through urban streets of the big city. During Sandburg’s lifetime the mid-western region went through transformation from an agricultural-based economy to industrialized centerpiece of the country.  Like Walt Whitman he welcomed the industrialized city culture despite its few drawbacks. Like other modern poets he forged his unique American style without imitating conventional European style and verse. Along with modern writers like Theodore Dreiser, Sherwood Anderson, Edgar Lee Masters and Ben Hecht, Sandburg is regarded as a member of the Chicago Literary Renaissance. Sanburg supported Civil rights movement and was honored by NAACP with the silver plaque award as the major prophet of civil rights.

    "Money buys everything except love, personality, freedom, immortality, silence and peace." -- Sandburg.

   "The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring."

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  4th August, 2024                         Somaseshu Gutala