View of RICH LIKE US’ OF NAYANTARA SAHGAL IS AN EXQUISITELY CRAFTED STUDY OF INDIAN FEMALE: AN ANALYSIS

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RICH LIKE US’ OF NAYANTARA SAHGAL IS AN EXQUISITELY CRAFTED STUDY OF

INDIAN FEMALE: AN ANALYSIS Md. Muzammil Hussain

Assistant Professor, Department of English, Juria College, Nagaon, Assam

Abstract - Females, throughout the centuries, are being oppressed, harassed and neglected in different ways. It is obvious that physically they differ from male. Moreover, they have to give birth to the children and nourish them. Taking the advantages of these points, the males began to show their superiority; and slowly became oppressive; and slowly found its place in social norms. The male began to dominate them, harass them: sexually, physically or in other ways and debar them from all facilities of the society.

Since the beginning of the oppression, different female, around the world, have been raising their voices for reforms on some issues like domestic violence, equal pay, reproductive rights, political rights, sexual harassment etc. Literature became one of the best ways. The eminent writer, Nayantara Sahgal shows her deep concern over the condition of women in India in her novel “Rich Like Us”. This paper shall examine the gradual developments of the female characters in their mental makeup and their courage to break the bondage and come out of it.

Keywords: Female, oppression, feminism, patriarchal society, political harassment.

1 INTRODUCTION

Most of the women, all over the world, are neglected in the name of religion, culture, tradition, ethos and so on. Many countries even do not allow them to enjoy their political right; they are not allowed to vote. They repent for their lives. They become furious, and the fury is forcefully quenched by their male counterpart.

To raise their voices, they have found literature as one of the effective mediums. Meanwhile, the French revolution gave birth to the movement of Feminism in literature. It is one of the most discussed movements of contemporary literature. Though emerged in French, it spread all over the world very quickly. In India, feminism in literature has a unique place. It is obvious that the concept of feminist ideologies had come from the west. Indian writers have their own ideology and way of expression.

Nayantara Sahgal is one of those writers, who has expressed her feministic views in almost all her novels-A Time to be Happy(1957), The Time of Morning(1965), Storm in Chandigarh(1969), The Day in Shadow(1971), Rich Like Us (1985) etc.

Rich Like Us won the Sinclair Fiction Prize in1985 and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1986.

2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This paper seeks to find out the position and condition of Indian female during post independent period as portrayed by Nayantara Sahgal in her novel “Rich Like

Us”. It has examined the gradual development of the female characters in their mental makeup. Descriptive analysis has been done by using survey of primary data and secondary data. Primary data includes Nayantara Sahgal‟s novel “Rich Like Us”. Secondary data includes books on Indian writers and Indian writings and Research works done on Nayantara Sahgal.

3 ANALYSIS

The novel is exquisitely crafted study of people of India in the aftermath of independence. The setting is New Delhi, one month after the emergency was declared. The word „emergency‟ was terribly atrocious for some people especially for the female at that time. It was the end of a dream for the idealistics like Sonali. She becomes a puppet. She was proud of her senior ranking in the Civil Service. The unmarried woman finds herself demoted. She is humiliated through a corrupt deal at governmental level. On the contrary, emergency meant opportunity for some people like Dev, spoilt son of Ram and Mona, who becomes the leader of the New Entrepreneurs.

Nayantara Sahgal herself is a member of one of the most high profile political family of India viz. Gandhi-Nehru family. Even then she had to lose her job, which is an experience she recounts in the novel through the character of Sonali,

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a specimen of modern women, a victim of

the so called modern Indian mentality.

Women like Sonali have dreams to create a new India where no corruption, no inequality, no poverty prevails. But the ever corrupt politics shatters the dreams of such women. A woman like Sonali becomes easy prey of political power. She has to resign from her post only to be replaced by Ravi Kachru, her former class fellow and present colleague. Her fault is her honest adherence to the governments declared industrial policy in rejecting a multinational company‟s application for a licence to produce a fizzy drink. Her survival comes under question. But she refuses to give up her ideals and values.

She remains struggling to find truth and logic in her ever changing homeland, India. She is astonished to the change of Ravi Kachru who was a staunch supporter of socialism; he switches to autocracy now. To grasp benefits, he supports the Prime Minister‟s decision; he was in haste to climb the ladder of success. Sonali has to express,

“I did admire and envy his commitment, it was so cloudless.

But I couldn‟t understand why we had to keep cutting and pasting Western concepts together and tying ourselves to them forever as if Europe were the centre of the universe and the Bible and Marx were the last word on mankind”

(Rich Like Us, 2018, pp 124)ⁱ. But she does not break down emotionally.

Rose, on the other hand, is an example of social and cultural domination in India. Born and raised in a blue-collar family in London, Rose falls in love with Ram, an already married man, and quickly sweeps off her feet and leaves with him for India. But, life for her in India is enervating. She had no idea about the Indian culture and its ramification on the female spirit. It is very unfortunate that she has to pay a heavy price.

Ram perceives the relationships in life in terms of his own benefit and fulfilment. He has no sensitivity for his first wife Mona‟s feelings. Ram brings an English wife, Rose, after Mona has given birth to his son. Rose has fallen in his deceptive net and left all her family members and country only to marry an already married man. Mona is deceived,

but he does not bother her reaction.

Ram‟s mentality towards women is mean.

For him, women are a part of his kennel and no one can resist him from adding as many members to it as he likes. Courting with other women though having wife is a normal thing for male like Ram. He talks to Rose about his being married as if there was nothing wrong:

“and one afternoon he told her, in a natural everyday voice that he had a wife and an infant child. Her shock was so great she couldn‟t speak. But after some seconds‟

silence she had began asking questions about them in what she hoped was her natural voice, while her brain grappled with this new turmoil and a man who could talk about courtship with her when he was already married and a father.”

(pp 41-42)

When Rose questions that how can they get married when Ram is already married, Ram says, “My religion lets a man have more than one wife.” (pp 42).

Such excuses are the bugs of the society.

Rose was so much attached to Ram that she could not refuse to marry him in spite of her mother‟s warnings. She broke almost settled engagement to marry a man who has come from alien culture.

Rose is now looked upon as „an intruder, a usurper‟ by Mona. She had to endure disgrace and hostility in the house. In a patriarchal society of India a girl comes under the protection cover of her husband after marriage. It is only through husband that a woman gets respected and accepted place in the society. Ram can have multiple wives, while Mona or Rose has only to endure the oppressions of Ram.Slowly Rose felt wronged:

“I don‟t think I can take much more of this, Ram.”

“of what?” He had the temerity to ask.

“your living with two wives.” (pp63) Indian mythology and religious books portray women is deity, but there are places we find that woman is considered as an object or thing.

“Muslims can have only four, at a time. We are more adventurous even, polyandrous. In Mahabharata, a woman marries five brothers in a charming accidental sort of way. One of the

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brothers goes to their mother who

is blind and says, „mother, we have found something precious' and she replies, „Then share it among you, my sons.‟” (pp 63-64).

Thus, for Ram, woman is just in object and born to give sensual pleasure to man. He further proves it by again falling in love with Marcella.

Suppression to female does not stop here. A cruel social custom of India is awaiting for Rose. Rose and Mona now become friendly when the former saves the later‟s life from suicide. But Rose‟s stepson Dev becomes annoyed with her.

Rose, when her husband is incapacitated by illness, is doomed by her honesty and her invidious position in Dev‟s household.

Dev with other relative arrangers her death, as „Sati‟ usually is.

“While Ram refers to Ramayana and Mahabharata to justify his bigamy, Rose, on the contrary, is stuck with the character of Sita.

Sita repeatedly figures in the narrative as the archetype of the wronged women, and Rose at various crucial moments in her life thinks of Sita”(Khatri & Tumar, 2016; Arura, N. 1991).ⁱⁱ,ⁱⁱⁱ

She is eventually murdered by Dev and Dev gets away with the act of forgery.

It is the woman who has to commit „Sati‟.

4 CONCLUSION

Nayantara Sahgal, in her novel, Rich Like Us, portrays the status of women as seen in the contemporary Indian society. It is the woman who has to follow the norms, customs, rituals etc. of the society, whether she is acivil service officer or an English born cultured woman, while man can easily break them. The social customs and political system always suppress the female and debar them from their rights.

Sahgal has successfully showed her objection to such suppressions and atrocities through her female characters like Sonali and Rose. While Sonali stands against the political suppression, Rose symbolises personal courage, compassion and genuine human warmth. It is the brave and powerful voice of Rose, raised against her stepson Dev that he finds unbearable and he has to get her silenced forever. In the novel, women hold their fort with dignity though surviving amidst adversity.

REFERENCES

1. Sahgal, Nayantara, Rich Like Us, New Delhi:

Harper Collins, 2018.

2. Khatri, Bhumika and Tomar, Krishna R., Gender Issues in Nayantara Sahgal’s Rich Like Us, International Journal of Engineering Technolory, Management and Applied Sciences, Vol. 4, No. 8, August 2016.

3. Arora, Neena, Nayantara Sahgal and Dorris Lessing; A Feminist Study in Comparison, New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1991.

4. Devidas, Kasabe S., Political Elements in the Nayantara Sahgal’s Rich Like Us, Pune Research: an International Journal in English, Vol. 2, No.4, July-Aug 2016.

5. Singh, Monica, Sahgal’s Rich Like Us: A Critical Analysis of Theme, Business Dimensions, Vol. 1(4), 2014.

6. Taank, Virender, Feministic Approach in the Novels of Nayantara Sahgal: A Critical Study, International Journal of Information Movement, Vol. 2, No. V, September 2017.

7. Rajan, Kalyanee, „Assorted Expressions of power in the women characters of Nayantara sahgal’s Rich Like Us’, Lapis Lazuli: An International Literary Journal, Vol.2, No.2, Autumn 2012, p8. Journal database, http://pintersociety.com/wp-

content/uploads/2012/11/kalyanee-Rajan- 16.pdf/

iSahgal, Nayantara, Rich Like Us, 11^th impression, New Delhi:

Harper Collins, 2018, pp124.

iiKhatri, Bhumika and Tomar, Krishna R., Gender Issues in Nayantara Sahgal’s Rich Like Us, International Journal of Engineering Technolory, Management and Applied Sciences, Vol. 4, No. 8, August 2016, pp141.

iiiArora, Neena, Nayantara Sahgal and Dorris Lessing; A Feminist Study in Comparison, New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1991, pp69.