DIASPORA WRITING - A SOCIO CULTURAL TOOL

Diaspora Writing - a Socio-Cultural Tool

Introduction:

Diaspora writing is considered as a branch of English literature. A person, from a strange land, thinking and writing about his homeland is called as Diaspora writing or a person writing about his one country which can be of his homeland but settled in another country is also called as Diaspora writing.  While tracing the history of Diaspora it began with the Jewish context, where the persecution and expulsion led to the dispersal of Jews away from their homeland carrying with them the fond hope of returning to the motherland one day. This conscious was portrayed in the Indian Diaspora writings.  Much of the literature is available on the Indian Diaspora pertains to Indian migration, their socioeconomic, cultural experiences of adaptation and assimilation in the host societies. In India this culture initiated in the middle of the nineteenth century. There were many writers created a sudden explosion of thoughts through their writings. They reflected the society as it is, but the immediate effect of their work made them to settle in a strange land and banned their piece of writing in their homeland. The unhealthy position of the society and inter politics of community, caste and ethnicity made them to evacuate their homeland. In this aspect of literature the world famous and finest writers like V.S.Naipaul, Salman Rushdie and A.K.Ramanujan are notable ones. In this paper the presenter makes an attempt to explain the political values and people’s consciousness during the times of natural disaster, riot and festivals through the literary work “A Suitable Boy” by VikramSeth.

Diaspora writing:

The word Diaspora originates from the Greek word which means a dispersion (scattering). Diaspora may be defined as dispersion of people, language, or culture that was formerly concentrated in one place. When an individual or group of people start producing literary production about people or language they may have disinherited but writing in another language, they may be defined as Diaspora literature. The term 'Diaspora', originally used for the Jewish excrement from its homeland, is now applied as a "metaphoric designation" for expatriates, refugees, exiles and immigrants. It refers to the work of exile and expatriates and all those who have experienced unsettlement and dislocation at the political, existential or metaphorical levels.

Vikram Seth - a Diaspora writer:

Vikram Seth is an Indian novelist and poet. He has written several novels and poetry books. Seth’s collections of poetry such as “Mappings (1980)” and “Beauty Tales (1991)” are notable contributions for the Indian English language poetry canon. His novels like The Golden Gate (1986), A Suitable Boy (1991), and An Equal Music (1993) made a remarkable place in the history of Indian English literature. Vikram Seth was born on 20^th June 1952 to Leila and Prem Seth in Calcutta, India. He did his basic schooling in India and gone to oxford for his higher studies there he got his degree in Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He lived in London for many years, now he maintains residences near Salisbury, England. Later he bought and renovated the house of the Anglican Poet George Herbert in 1996. Because of his settlement only we call him as a diasporic writer. While taking Seth’s writing as a diasporic one, he has done a great thing in explaining his aspect of “Multiculturalism” in his novels, which he experienced because of his education and settlement. He has got many prizes for literature like Commonwealth Poetry Prize (1985), Sahitiya Akademi Award (1988), Padma Shri Award in literature and education (2007) and etc…

A suitable boy as  a Diaspora writing:

A suitable boy is considered as a diasporic writing not only of its story and views but also for the writer and his presentation. In this novel the main story roll around four families: the Kapoor’s, the Mehras, the Chatterji’s and the Khans.the novel presents a plurality of Indian culture and its  ceremonies, customs and tradition. The title itself explains the story of the novel that choosing a suitable boy for a girl to be a better half in their life. In this novel a great deal of effort is put forth on the part of a family to find a "suitable boy" for their unmarried daughters. As Indian girls gain more independence like going out shopping in small groups of friends and attending university classes, there arises a conflict between many girls and their families over the idea of an arranged marriage. Arguably the central character of the novel, Lata Mehra, questions how a woman could marry and live with a man she could not love because she knew nothing about him. The novel begins with the arranged marriage of Lata's sister Savita to Pran Kapoor,a young man who is a professor in Brahmpur University and from a prominent family. He is, therefore, a "suitable boy." Lata's widowed mother, who made the arrangements for Savita's marriage, is intent on marrying off her youngest daughter, Lata. Although the novel is not political in nature, there is enough of the conflict between Hindu and Muslim to explain certain prejudices, and it is into one of those prejudices that Lata rushes headlong as she meets and eventually falls in love with Kabir Durrani, a Muslim and son of a prominent mathematician at the University. To further complicate the plot, Maan Kapoor, Pran's younger brother, becomes infatuated with the notorious Muslim courtesan, Saeeda Bai. Lata's situation becomes complicated when someone sees her out walking with Kabir and reports it to her mother. Mrs. Rupa Mehra is beside herself thinking Lata has ruined her reputation and no "suitable boy's" family will have her marry their son. When she learns that Kabir is Muslim, she hastily packs herself and Lata off to Calcutta. The plot contains a great many political intrigues that are difficult to follow and would be uninteresting were it not for the fact that various family members are involved in the action. Begum Abida Khan narrowly manages to retain the family residence after a run in with L. N. Agarwal over the handling of a near riot. The melee was caused by the intention to erect a Hindu Temple adjacent to a Mosque which, incidentally, had once been a Hindu Temple. The sticking point was a phallus of Shiva in the temple directly between the mosque and Mecca, toward which Muslim's pray. The political maneuvering comes to a head with the passage of the Zamindari Abolition Bill which will effectively cause large land holders to lose much of their property. The plot continues throughout the novel centring mostly on the "suitable boy" theme played out in sub-plots involving Maan Kapoor and Saeeda Bai, Ishaq and Tasneem, and most especially Lata and Kabir and "suitable boys" to whom she is introduced in Calcutta. In the end, Lata resolves to give up Kabir and marry a "suitable boy" she likes but does not love. Aside from Lata's heartbreaking decision not to marry Kabir, there is little real ugliness in the novel outside of inter- and intra-family intrigues which Seth somehow manages to make interesting reading.

A socio-cultural tool in the novel “A Suitable Boy”:

Religious Intolerance:

The theme of Religious Intolerance runs heavily throughout the novel. Religious difference prevents Lata and Kabir from fulfilling their hearts' desires for each other. The Raja of Marh becomes the arch symbol of religious militancy with his erecting the Temple of Shiva adjacent to a mosque. The phallic symbol of Shiva he intends to use as the centrepiece of the temple is an act of spite designed to insult Muslims. On both sides, riots and attacks occur in the name of religion. Saeeda Bai, the courtesan, is disdained by the Hindu society more for her religion as a Muslim than for her lifestyle. When the holy days of both religions happen to coincide, even death results when neither side is willing to give way to the other. The Religious Intolerance theme occurs when Maan travels to visit the family of Rasheed. He is only begrudgingly accepted by most of Rasheed's family after he demonstrates not so much his tolerance of their customs as his indifference to religion in general. That truce, however, runs thin after Maan is accused of attempted murder of the young Muslim man, Firoz Khan. The Partition of 1954 is the pinnacle of the theme of Religious Intolerance. It partitioned off parts of India to become Pakistan where Muslims were expected to go, leaving mainland India to the Hindus. Although a good many Muslim did go, the Partition never really worked because of ties many people had to their ancestral lands. Majority in location plays a big part in the theme of Religious Intolerance in the novel. In the city of Brahmpur, where neighbourhood’s are a majority of one religion or the other, there is more prejudice and conflict than in the more rural predominantly Muslim areas such as in Rasheed's village. Rasheed, perhaps the most fanatical Muslim in the novel, replies when his wife asks about the noise of automobile horns honking outside, "Nothing. Nothing. They're just Hindus." The theme is notably carried out in the scene after the riot when Hindu ruffians have cornered Firoz in their territory. Maan manages to get him out, but not without suffering the verbal abuse of the Muslim boys.

Women's Roles in Post-Partition India:

Arranged marriages are not the only cultural customs Seth details in A Suitable Boy. There is an emerging shift in the role of women in the culture. On the one hand, there are the traditionalists like Mrs. Rupa Mehra, Mrs. Mahesh Kapoor, Savita Kapoor, and Mrs. Chatterji who represent the old ways of social custom. Lata represents the middle ground. She is traditional in her respect for her mother and her ultimate choice of marrying the man who her mother approves. Nevertheless, she is at the stage of questioning traditional practices and taking a few steps on her own as a modern young woman. Other women in the novel represent the post-Partition modern Indian woman. Malati has broken with tradition by going about on her own and accepting the favours of young men she finds appealing. Meenakshi is the truly liberated woman who indulges in promiscuous affairs that have nothing to do with her feelings for and relationship to her husband, Arun Mehra. She dresses flamboyantly, goes out at will, and thumbs her nose at gossips who criticize her behaviour. Kakoli Chatterji is a young woman flexing her independence by consorting with a young German boy, Hans. She holds her own with the eccentric Chatterji family in their pseudo-intellectual rhyming games. Begum Abida Khan is perhaps the most startling of the liberated women in the novel in that she is a Muslim woman, living alone, and active in politics. Like Meenakshi, she is unaffected by the gossip of the more traditional people who surround her. This recurring theme runs throughout the novel about women breaking free of the cultural limitations traditionally placed on them. Interestingly, however, the Muslim courtesan, Saeeda Bai falls more into the category of a traditionalist than in the liberated woman category. Her vocation as a courtesan is often regarded as the oldest profession in the world. Entertainers, likewise, are not culturally held in high social esteem. However, Saeeda Bai follows most of the cultural rules and habits living an otherwise pious life of religious devotion.

Political Machinations:

Although the theme of politics in the novel is secondary to the Suitable Boy theme, it nevertheless lends credence to the social upheaval of post-Independence India. Just as women are becoming more assertive (i.e., Meenakshi, Begum Khan, Malati), there is the movement to elevate the status of the untouchable lower caste. Central to that theme is the controversy over the Zamindari Bill which would take portions of land away from wealthy land holders and give it to the farmers who have been feudal slaves to work the land. Even, however, with the final passage of the bill and its being upheld by the courts, the struggle between the haves and have not’s continues. The implication is clear that the wealthy have the resources to maintain the status quo. It is not his hereditary wealth that brings about the downfall of the Raja of Marh, but rather it is his war against all Muslims that finally brings him to his knees. Eventually politics divides families as in the case of Rasheed who is banished and eventually commits suicide because of his inability to help the helpless. The theme is at its strongest in the opposition between Begum Abida Khan and L. N. Agarwal in the legislative House. It becomes tied in with religion in the campaign for a House seat between Mahesh Kapoor and Waris. Avoiding the subject of vote buying, Seth uses the fake handbills implying that Firoz is dead as the dirty trick used by Waris to win the election. In another vein, the subject of politics revolves around Pran's application and interview for the position of head reader in his department at the university.

Conclusion:

There were many novels explain about the setting of society but this novel “A Suitable Boy” stand alone in the modernistic way, because of the expository way of approach. In this novel the author explain the plight of the society through a concept of love and marriage and also he showed variety of opinions about marriage. The love story reveals the present position of society through the religious tolerance, partition and politics. So finally the whole novel is all connected with the culture and society. So through this way the novel stands as tool for knowing the socio-cultural aspects.