ofdeath indian chronicler’s/media/research collaboration... · r uthprawerjhabvalaspent...

RuthPrawerJhabvalaspentherformativeandarguablymostproductiveliteraryyearsinIndia.Indiawaswhereshetrulyembarked

onherlongandsuccessfuljourneyasawriter. HerportrayalsofthecomplexnuancesofIndianculture,infact,ledmanytoassumethatshewasIndian.Apparently,salesofherbooksdeclinedafterhertrueidentitywasrevealedandcriticsrushedtoaccuseherof“Orientalism”and“old-fashionedcolonialattitudes”.

GivenJhabvala’slongpersonalandprofessionalassociationwithIndia,andtheprofoundinfluenceithadonherlifeandwork,itmightseemoddthatshechosetobequeathherarchivetotheBritishLibraryinLondonratherthantoanIndianinstitution.EquallyintriguingisthattheIndianliteraryestablishment,itseems,didn’tshowanyinterestinacquiringit.Jhabvalahadherreasons.ShewantedtoacknowledgeherdebttoBritainforgivingherparentsrefugeaftertheyhadtofleeNaziGermany.ButtheIndianindifferencecanonlybeexplainedintermsofa widerindifferencetoitsculturalhistory.

Fromhersickbed,shortlybeforeherdeathin2013attheageof85,JhabvalaexpressedherwishthatallthepapersrelatingtoherprosewritingbegiventotheBritishLibraryinLondon“indeepgratitudeformylife,thewonderfuleducationtheygaveme,theEnglishlanguageitself,mygreatloveofreadingandtryingtowrite,allofwhichsustainedmethroughoutmylife”.

Thearchive(1953-2013),whichwasofficiallyhandedovertotheBritishLibraryandcelebratedataneventonJuly3,issaidtobea“treasuretrove”withhundredsofdocumentscrammedin11sealedboxes.PaulineMcGonagle,thefirstdoctoralresearchertolookthroughthem,saysthatitwilltakeatleasttwoyearstocompletetheprocessandforthepaperstobemadeavailabletopublic.

Thearchivecomprisesnotebookdraftsofherproseworks,typescriptsandcorrespondence,includingtelegrams, hand-writtenandtypednotesfromagentsandpublishersand friends.

“Therearealsoenvelopescontainingfloppydiscsfulloftypedshortstories,annotatedscrapbooks,criticalarticles,draftsofplaysandcopiesofherhusband’s

drawings.Thepapersshowapersonalassertiveness:thewishtocommunicatewithherreadersandintryingtoreachasmanypeopleaspossible.”

Shecomesacrossas“someonewithadeterminedcertaintyofhercreativepurposeandafirmnessinmaintainingartisticcontroloverhercreativework,e.g.endingstostories,booktitles,imagesonthecoversofbooks”.“Italsoshowsastrongconcernovertheauthenticityandtruthinthedepictionsofhercharactersandtheirenvironments,”saysMcGonagle.

Jhabvalatrustedtheadviceandopinionsofthosewithwhomsheworkedcloselylikehereditors,butshealsocared

fortheopinionofherarchitectandartisthusbandCyrus,whoillustratedmanyofherbooks,papersreveal.

Shewasanextremelydisciplinedwriter,asconfirmedbyherdaughterAvaWood.“Shewroteonaneardailybasis forthreehoursinthemorning...Wetiptoedaroundthehousesoastoavoiddisturbingher.Thispatterncontinuedalmosttothelastdaysofher life.”

MakingherfilmdebutwithTheHouseholder,Jhabvalawrotemore

screenplaysthannovels,winningtwoOscars—forARoomwithaViewandHowardsEnd.But shelikedtobeknownasanovelistfirst.

Filmswere“fun”but,“Ilivesomuchmoreinandforthebooks,”shesaiddismissing“writingfilmscripts”asa“recreation”.Shefoundfilmbusinessitselfratherexasperatingand keptherdistancefromthefilmcrowd,seekingrefugeinthe“protective”companyofhertwolifelongcollaborators,directorJamesIvoryandproducerIsmailMerchant.Theyshieldedherfromthe“realworldoffilms”.

“TheyhavestoodbetweenmeandwhatIwouldhavefoundterriblyunpleasant:acollaborativeeffortatwhatiscalledthescriptlevel;thedreadedstoryconference,”JhabvalawroteinTheTimesLiterarySupplement(TLS).

Opinionaboutherwritinghasswungwidelybetweenstingingcriticismandgushingpraise,butsheneverallowedcriticismtoundermineherownfaith inherwriting.Recallingaparticularly lowmoment inthe1950swhenshehad juststartedwriting, shewrote toafriend:“Iwasat thebottomofadeepabyss.Noonereadthem.But Ienjoyedit (theexperienceofwriting).”

Inacareerspanningmorethan50years—halfofthemspentinIndia—shewroteadozennovels,mostofthemeithersetinIndiaoraboutIndianthemes,withHeatandDustwinningtheBookerPrizein1975.ItwasthelastnovelshewroteinIndiabeforemovingto NewYork,butIndiacontinuedtofeatureinherworks.In1986,shewrote:“IhavenowlivedintheUSfor10yearsandhavewrittenonenovel,severalstoriesandseveralfilmscriptsabouttheexperience.IcannotclaimthatIndiahasdisappearedoutofmyselfandmywork;evenwhennotovertlyfiguringthere,itsinfluenceisalwayspresent.”

YetherrelationshipwithIndia(a“greatanimalofpovertyandbackwardness”)wasmarkedbyambivalenceandoftentingedwithbitterness.“Ifyoudon’tsaythatIndiaissimplyparadiseonearth,andtheextendedHindufamilythemostperfectwayoforganisingsociety,youareanti-Indian.Idon’thavemanyreadersthere,”shetoldTheNewYorkTimes.

BorninGermany,broughtupinBritain,marriedtoanIndianandsettledfirst inIndiaandthenAmerica,Jhabvalawasdescribedasa“rootless intellectual”bySalmanRushdie:astatusthatsheherselfwasdeeplyconsciousofandwroteabout,thoughintheendsheknewwhere“home”was:England.

14 JULY 2018 BOOKS & IDEAS |

Murderousmobs are on the rampage. InDhule,Maharashtra,afamilyoffivewasbeaten todeath; andbefore that, lynch

mobs ran riot in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Tripura,Bengal and Manipur. Mere suspicion has beenenoughtogetthecrowdsthirstingforblood,theirfury fuelled by false news of child kidnappings,rape or perceived insults to religious affiliations.

Atthereceivingendofsuchmindlessviolenceis a group of outsiders — nomads, tourists,migrant labour and settlers from other regions.FearoftheOtherstalksourlivesasitdidinancienttimes and themobs are just as easy to incite as itwas then.

Greekmyth tellsusof themaenads, followersofDionysuswhowereoftenrousedtofurybythegod. One story goes about his visit to Thebes,which was ruled by Pentheus at the time. ThekingdidnotworshipDionysusanddidnotreceivehim with the respect due to a god. Angered,Dionysus is believed to have compelled thewomenofThebestoquittheirhousesandindulgein riotous celebrations on Mount Parnassus.When the king went after them, the womenassaulted him, and his mother Agave, in herBacchic fury,mistookhimforananimalandtorehim topieces.

Mob fury backfired in the Indian tale aboutKacha, son of the guru of the gods, Brihaspati.Kachawas sent to Shukracharya (teacher of theasuras) to learn the art of reviving the dead.Shukracharya did not turn away Kacha eventhough he was the son of the enemy. But theasuras were annoyed with their guru and, intheir fury, killedKachaseveral times.Each timeShukracharya brought him back to life.Frustrated by what they saw as their teacher’sweakness, theasuraskilledKacha,dissolvedhisbonesand fed themtoShukracharya.However,Shukracharya’sdaughter,Devayani,was in lovewith Kacha and begged her father to bring himback. When the guru tried to do that he foundKacha in his stomach. And thus, much againsthisownwishes,he taughthimthesecretmantraso that Kacha upon coming out of his guru’sstomach, could revive Shukracharya.

Mythsalsoshowthatmobfuryisoftendrivenby a fear of the Other. One such story is aboutBabir, told by the Gavlis of Maharashtra. Babirwas born to a tribe of cowherds. Hismother hadwrested a special boon from Shiva so that shecould bear a son. Shiva gave her a choice: shecouldhaveasonwhowouldbewiseandbravebutonly live till hewas 12 or onewhowas stupidbutendowedwith a long life.Much to the god’s cha-grin, she chose the wise one. Shiva tried hard toconvince her otherwise and, finally, left with nochoice, hedecided tobebornasher son.

Babirgrewupagiftedfluteplayer.Atage12,hewas out in the fields when his cows strayed intothefieldsofanothertribe,theRamoshis.Angered,the Ramoshis tried to steal his cows but whenBabirplayedhisflute, thecowsalwaysreturnedtohim. The Ramoshis killed him and stuffed hisbody into a porcupine’s den. The spot immedi-ately turnedholyandsproutedaneemtree.Thatnight,Babir’smotherhadadream.Hersoncameto her and pointed out the spot where he hadbeen left todie. That spotwas then turned into ashrine for Shiva who protects the community,especially thepoor andhelpless.

Thestory isopen tomultiple interpretations.Babir’s shows just how the fear of outsidersusurpingone’swealthcould triggerviolent inter-tribe wars, his killing by the entire clan a grimindicator of the legacyofmob fury thatwehaveinherited and the association with Shiva, areminderofhowmajoritarianculturesabsorbedminor local gods.

Socialharmonyhasbeenahard-foughtbattleanditsprinciplesof liberty,goodwillandhuman-ism are always changing. J S Mill, in his essay“On Liberty”, wrote how the meaning of libertyhas changed over time. When the role of a rulerchanged, frombeing themaster of his people totheir servant (orwatchman, as our primeminis-ter has famously pointed out), it brought forth anewthreat to liberty: the tyrannyof themajority.

Majoritarian policies do the most damagewhen they fuel anger against the Other—be itfor the food they eat, the clothes they wear orthe gods they follow. As Yudhishthira told theyaksha in oneof themostmemorable passagesfrom the Mahabharata, anger is the invincibleenemy within us. Unfortunately we are stillunder its thumb.

Mobsofdeath

ACROSS:8 Greek character is a

conqueror, we hear (4)9 The perfect alibi event thrown

into confusion, was destinedto happen (10)

10A deadly sin, there’s nodisputing (6)

11 Remove deposit from vesselin drought area (4-4)

12 Do the French give statebenefit? (4)

13 Band accepts endless ribbing?That’s entertainment! (10)

17 Returning, get stuck intobananas (4)

18Gringo gives a thousand tothe Mexican, just about (5)

19Be full of, or just the other

way round (4)20 Lawyer’s children argued

about in the court? (5,5)22 A poet quite the reverse of

dull (4)23 Dry Welsh out in a crafty

way! (8)27 Article about girl being a

flier ? (6)28 Identical, in spite of this (10)29 In short, the lady would take

off (4)

DOWN:1 A seer going crazy to get a

lordly position (10)2 Massenet composition

produces no excitement (8)3 Indian thus translates into his

own language (10)4 With the cipher missing, the

wing will render support (4)5 Jesters’ ability to reason and

act (4)6 Go for a walk, rose! (6)7 Animal comes up into current

form (4)14 Is violent and ruins the

gears (5)15 Concert-goer, one at the front

? (10)16 Bird flying around there was a

rook (10)19 Went up following

underground agave plant (8)21 A match for some holy

scriptures (6)24 Horribly heartless, yet pure in

heart (4)25 Does, perhaps, have the

pipe back to front (4)26 Grass given up, newer

drug taken, in casualagreement (4)

SOLUTION #3088

THE BS CROSSWORD #3089

iii

INDIAN

(Fromleft) ThearchiveattheBritishLibrarywill haveondisplayRuthPrawerJhabvala’s extensivenotes;aparcel insidewhichhernoteswerekept safe;Jhabvala inanundatedphotograph; the collectioncontains several ofhernotebooks

CHRONICLER’SBRITISHBEQUEST

RuthPrawerJhabvala’sarchivebeingcataloguedbytheBritishLibraryshedsnewlightonher lifeandambivalentrelationshipwiththecountry in

whichshespenthermostproductiveyears,writesHasanSuroor

Born inGermany,brought up inBritain, marriedto an Indian andsettled first inIndia and thenAmerica,Jhabvala wasdescribed as a‘rootlessintellectual’ bySalman Rushdie

|M |Y |T |H |I |C | |M |A |N |T |R |A |

ARUNDHUTI DASGUPTA

PHOTOS: COURTESY BRITISH LIBRARY

ThedeathofPentheusportrayedonapotterybowl from450-425BC

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