HAPPY FOREVER: Kanthapura by Raja Rao

KANTHAPURA BY RAJA RAO :-

Raja Rao’s first novel Kanthapura (1938) is the story of a village in south India named Kanthapura. The novel is narrated in the form of a ‘sthalapurana’ by an old woman of the village, Achakka. Kanthapura is a traditional caste ridden Indian village which is away from all modern ways of living. Dominant castes like Brahmins are privileged to get the best region of the village whereas Sudras, Pariahs are marginalized. The village is believed to have protected by a local deity called Kenchamma. Though casteist, the village has got a long nourished traditions of festivals in which all castes interact and the villagers are united.

This novel is narrated in the form of a ‘Sthalpurana’ by an old woman of the village, Achakka. Kanthapura is a traditional caste ridden Indian village which is away from all modern ways of living. Dominent castes like Brahmins are privileged to get the best region of the village whereas Sudras, Pariahs are marginalized. The village is believed to have projected by a local deity called Kenchamma. Though casteist, the village has got a long nourished traditions of festivals in which all castes interact and the villagers are united. As Rao explains in his original foreword, there is no village in India, however mean, that has not a rich legendary history of its own, in which some famous figure of myth or history has made an appearance. In this way, the story-teller, who commemorate the past, keeps a native audience in touch with its lore and thereby allows the past to mingle with the present, the gods and heroes with ordinary mortals.

Role of Women in Kanthapura

⏩ Rao’s Kanthapura is a subtle study of the immense change that the gandhian movement of the thirties brought into the life of the Indian woman and yet didn’t let her cross the conventions to so-called feminine boundaries. The novel traces the psychologically revolution that accompanied the emergence of the woman from within the twin incarnations of the devil and the dasi that has reioned the imagination of the patriarchy since age.

⏩ Rao's Selection of old grand mother as the narrator in one of the finest stylistic devine of the novel and also the influence of moorthys preaching and Rangmal’s sevika sangha. This is one of the rare instances where history is looked at from a woman’s point of view as opposed to its analytical, power – structured male version that ineritably leaves the women folk out.

⏩ In kanthapura women made up a significant part of the satygrahis and many assumed the role of leadersa in the movement thus we find Gandhi of Kanthapura. Moorthy selecting Rangmma as one of the members of the congress panchayat committee saying “We need a woman for the committee for the congress is for the weak and the lowly.”

⏩ Rangmma acts as a source of information, knowledge and inspiration to the village women. Rangmma was also one of the strongest woman and she is a widow. She tells women about laxmibai and trains them to resist the lathi blows of the core religious zeal in the women and adds a nationalist dimension to it “We shall fight the police for kenchamma’s sake, and if the rapture of devotion is in you, the lathi will grow as soft as butter and as supple as a silken threw and you will hymn out the name the mahatma”

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Kenchamma was the godess. She was the center of the village. The attachments and love for the mother is express in many ways. Motherhood is represented by Kenchamma she protects from sickness diseases.

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On the other side Ratna takes lead among women she was daughter of old widover Kamalamma. Ratan was a Child widow who has been powerfully influenced by modern ideas and who does not regard being a woman as a matter of shame and inferiority. She is detested by the village women along with the evil Bhutan, for walking about the streets like a boy, wearing her hair to the left “like a concubine” and wearing he jeweler and all this being a widow. Rattan’s retort when accosted for this is remarkable.

⏩ “When she was asked why she behaved as though she hadn’t lost her husband, she said that, that was nobody’s business, and that if these sniffing old country hens thought that seeing a man for a day and this when one is ten years a marriage, they had better eat ud and drown themselves in the river” she least the women against the police as the latter launch a violent assault against the village.”

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Rangmma also plays a vital role in resisting orthodoxy. The breath of orthodoxy found in kanthapura. Is caused more by women than men. Rangmma has a fair knowledge of puranas which her fathers Ramakrishna needs. She is also endowed with modern scientific spirit and knows about evolution of life etc. she praises noorthy as true gandhian and helps him way relentless fight aginst redmen.

⏩ Achakka the old woman and narrator in kanthapura. She is representative of how Indians of the time were form between accepting reality as is was or reinvisioning it as it can or as it should be. She is also representative of had “Women despite being mired in traditional ways. Can embrace change and be an active agent of reconstructing reality. She represents the fundamental force of both social and cultural changes within Kanthapura, and India in general she ends up buying into morty’s and by extension Gandhi’s call for self-rule.

⏩ Women in raja rao’s Kantjhapuira within the socio Political realms played women in the Indian fights for independence against British rules. In our society women one were always marginalize, in fiction but Raja portray eyed women as heroic figure in Kanthapura.

⏩ Even there are the women like a Akaka and Javni becomes vidow at the young age remains dependent and bur ten for family in fact her death does not perture but relieves the other. Gandhian moment had a considerable role to play vital role in bringing the women out pardah. To remove the ignorance of the women in Kanthapura.

⏩ Women taking part in the national movement in kanthapura it is with the help of women that mouthy, Gandhi and other man brings in a lot of charge in village in short we can say that women of Kanthapura are ignorant but we witnessed the immense charge that is gradually bought about in psyche of the narrow minded prejudiced and understanding.