3. Discuss "The M.C.C." as a typical short
story of R.K. Narayan. ?
Answers
Explanation:
Having been under British rule for more than three centuries, India faced a peculiar situation regarding its exposure to the English language. For a number of years English had become the number one language to be taught in schools and educated Indians had been reading and writing in English much before the study of English language had been made a necessary part of the school curriculum. Lord William Bentick endorsed Macaulay’s Minute as government policy only in 1835 stating: ‘ . . . the great object of the British Government ought to be the promotion of European literature and science among the natives of India, and all funds appropriated for the purpose of education would be best employed on Indian education alone.’
Two things prompted the British rulers to promote English in India. Firstly, there was a pressing demand for Indian clerks, translators and lower administrative officials and for all of them knowledge of English was essential in order to effectively carry out their official duties. Secondly, as M.K.Naik points out, ‘with the rise of the Evangelical movement in Britain the idea of spreading the word of Christ among the natives assumed vital importance for some Englishmen.’ (M.K.Naik: A History of Indian-English Literature). Mission Schools came up at first in the South and then later in Bengal and Bombay and English language was taught with great fervour at these schools. In addition to this it was also felt that a spread of English education would also lead to ‘an assimilation of Western culture by the Indians and that this would make for the stability of the empire....’
Whatever may be the reasons, this spread of English language was quick and reactions to it were at first mixed. A strong prejudice against western education was felt in the conservation circles. There were protests and there were fears of indigenous cultures and languages being swamped by this onslaught of western thought now made available through the study of the English Language. But by and large the language was eagerly and enthusiastically accepted by the more ‘forward looking’ Indians as it opened up whole new worlds for them and made available the treasures of its literatures and its sciences. There is ample evidence to suggest the fact that Indians had already started writing in English even as early as two decades prior to Macaulay’s Minute of 1835. (You can refer to M.K.Naik’s A History of Indian English Literature for details). Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekanand and a little later Aurobindo and Nirad C. Chaudhury were all excellent exponents of the English language and staunch supporters of it too. It was not until 1930s, however, that a number of novelists began to write in English. The famous trio also known as the ‘Big Three’, Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan and Raja Rao burst on the literary scene between the years 1935 and 1938. Each was different than the other though each was writing in English, being himself an Indian. The differences in their writings hinted at the vast possibilities that were waiting to be tapped in Indian English literature. Mulk Raj Anand, with his novel The Untouchables, emerged as ‘the novelist as reformer’ while Raja Rao with his Kanthapura was ‘the novelist as metaphysical poet.’ Narayan, with his Swami and Friends, was completely different from these two in being simply ‘the novelist as novelist’ not lending himself to any ism in particular. He had a firm grounding in reality and a keen eye for detail with an intimate knowledge of the importance of the apparently trivial or commonplace things. From the gamut of R.K. Narayan’s writings, ‘the ‘M.C.C’’, which forms a chapter of his debut novel Swami and Friends has been included in your course of study as an example of Indian English Writing. It is always interesting to know the writer in addition to his works in order to understand the influences in his life which might have shaped his writings and also to understand his circumstances and his milieu which too might have had played a similar role. Before moving on to a discussion of ‘the ‘M.C.C.’’ therefore let us take a brief look at R.K. Narayan’s life and his works.
Answer:
Explanation:
Having been under British rule for more than three centuries, India faced a peculiar situation regarding its exposure to the English language. For a number of years English had become the number one language to be taught in schools and educated Indians had been reading and writing in English much before the study of English language had been made a necessary part of the school curriculum. Lord William Bentick endorsed Macaulay’s Minute as government policy only in 1835 stating: ‘ . . . the great object of the British Government ought to be the promotion of European literature and science among the natives of India, and all funds appropriated for the purpose of education would be best employed on Indian education alone.’
Two things prompted the British rulers to promote English in India. Firstly, there was a pressing demand for Indian clerks, translators and lower administrative officials and for all of them knowledge of English was essential in order to effectively carry out their official duties. Secondly, as M.K.Naik points out, ‘with the rise of the Evangelical movement in Britain the idea of spreading the word of Christ among the natives assumed vital importance for some Englishmen.’ (M.K.Naik: A History of Indian-English Literature). Mission Schools came up at first in the South and then later in Bengal and Bombay and English language was taught with great fervour at these schools. In addition to this it was also felt that a spread of English education would also lead to ‘an assimilation of Western culture by the Indians and that this would make for the stability of the empire....’
Whatever may be the reasons, this spread of English language was quick and reactions to it were at first mixed. A strong prejudice against western education was felt in the conservation circles. There were protests and there were fears of indigenous cultures and languages being swamped by this onslaught of western thought now made available through the study of the English Language. But by and large the language was eagerly and enthusiastically accepted by the more ‘forward looking’ Indians as it opened up whole new worlds for them and made available the treasures of its literatures and its sciences. There is ample evidence to suggest the fact that Indians had already started writing in English even as early as two decades prior to Macaulay’s Minute of 1835. (You can refer to M.K.Naik’s A History of Indian English Literature for details). Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekanand and a little later Aurobindo and Nirad C. Chaudhury were all excellent exponents of the English language and staunch supporters of it too. It was not until 1930s, however, that a number of novelists began to write in English. The famous trio also known as the ‘Big Three’, Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan and Raja Rao burst on the literary scene between the years 1935 and 1938. Each was different than the other though each was writing in English, being himself an Indian. The differences in their writings hinted at the vast possibilities that were waiting to be tapped in Indian English literature. Mulk Raj Anand, with his novel The Untouchables, emerged as ‘the novelist as reformer’ while Raja Rao with his Kanthapura was ‘the novelist as metaphysical poet.’ Narayan, with his Swami and Friends, was completely different from these two in being simply ‘the novelist as novelist’ not lending himself to any ism in particular. He had a firm grounding in reality and a keen eye for detail with an intimate knowledge of the importance of the apparently trivial or commonplace things. From the gamut of R.K. Narayan’s writings, ‘the ‘M.C.C’’, which forms a chapter of his debut novel Swami and Friends has been included in your course of study as an example of Indian English Writing. It is always interesting to know the writer in addition to his works in order to understand the influences in his life which might have shaped his writings and also to understand his circumstances and his milieu which too might have had played a similar role. Before moving on to a discussion of ‘the ‘M.C.C.’’ therefore let us take a brief look at R.K. Narayan’s life and his works.