Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

7/23/2019 Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

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Cha

pter IV

Cross Cultural Encounter in Heat and Dust

The interaction between the two cultures, European and Indian, is Ruth Prawer Jhabvalas

forte as a novelist. It fors the substance as well as shapes the process b! which her personal

e"perience in India is transfored into the art of fiction. #he declares that India reacts stron$l!

on forei$ners and the!, in turn, either love it or loath it or do both alternativel!. #he has herself

passed throu$h this c!cle andHeat and Dustis part of this c!clical $rowth. The title of the novel

sees to si$nif! Jhabvalas attept at pro%ectin$ a cross&cultural encounter.

Heat and Dust deals with the sordid aspects of se" and pre$nanc! concernin$ woen in

India. 'hat stri(es Jhabvalas European characters in India ost at the outset is the effect of the

Indian environent& heat, dust, $ers, diseases and the $eneral s)ualor& on their sensibilit!.

Indian sees to a(e deands on her European characters, deands that are difficult to

reconcile. It sees that the authors own dilea is shared in $reat easure b! her European

characters resultin$ in the brea(down of their personalities or attepts at salvation throu$h

withdrawal or fli$ht. *s has been entioned earlier this dilea is absent in her earlier novels

that deal with the ironic situation as is e"perienced b! her characters in their da!&to&da! lives.

The hesitation or the wea( note of optiis that we find in the second or iddle $roup of novels

re$ardin$ assiilation in India b! her European characters is copletel! issin$ in this novel.

+ere her European characters are full! aware of the harful effects, which India en$enders

speciall! to the woen.


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In the face of Indian realit!, the tie honored concepts of the ideal ritish attitude to

Indian appear as popous and unworth! and, in the final anal!sis, irrelevant. -livia resents

interference with native custos on the arro$ant assuption of a superior culture. 'ho are we

to interfere with an!ones culture especiall! an ancient one li(e theirs/0 she declares at the

Crawfords dinner part! 1+*2 345. +er coent on the 6awab7 +es %ust li(e8one of us0

1+*2 9:5 and her acceptance of his stateent that the! are fundaentall! ore ali(e than she

and ;rs. Crawford, for e"aple, indicate a ?5 and b! ;a%or ;innies

as a wea( spot0 often found in the finest people but one that aliens need to $uard a$ainst since

it is there that India see(s the out and pulls the over into8the other diension0 1+*2 =>=5.

The separatist consciousness is the fundaental in the ritish counit! is evident in the

character of bri$ht and practical eth Crawford who did not allow herself to spea( about -livia

until an! !ears& a lifetie had passed0 1+*2 =945, after -livia threw in her lot with the East7

eth (new where line had to be drawn, not onl! in speech and behavior but also in ones

thou$ht8 eth felt that there were oriental privacies !steries& that should not be

disturbed, whether the! la! within the Palace, the ba@aar of #atipur, or the alle!s of

Ahat. *ll those dar( re$ions were outside her sphere of action or ia$ination as was

-livia once she had crossed over into the. 1+*2 =94&9:5

The clin$ to this (ind of separatist principle introduces a corrosive eleent into the

ritish character is anifested b! the chan$e& alost iperceptible and unnoticed e"cept b!

-livia& that coes over 2ou$las Rivers. -livia had loved and arried hi for all the )ualities

possessed b! hi& his )uiet, sturd!, anl! spirit and his conscientious adherence to his ideals.


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Bet the sae code of coura$e and honor that had seeed so idealistic in En$land appears base

and unworth! when put to the test in India. The s!ste in which it is ebodied chan$es 2ou$las

fro a fine health! En$lish bo! into a puff!, popous *n$lo& Indian and a pillar of idealis. *

sense of alienation sweeps over -livia when she sees in her husband the shadow of what he is to

becoe7 It struc( her that his face had becoe heavier, even soewhat puff!, a(in$ hi loo(

into other En$lishen in India. #he pushed that thou$ht aside7 it was unbearable0 1+*2 ==95.

The 2ou$las becoes ore hopelessl! narrow inded and unia$inative with his deeper

iersion into the s!ste and as ore he ouths the platitudes of his counit! he finds

hiself estran$ed fro his sensitive, artistic wife. Ruth Jhabvala conceives 2ou$las as stoical,

idealistic and strivin$ for perfection. oc(ed, within the iperial s!ste, however, his strivin$ is

reduced to a painsta(in$ identification with those who rule, e"ploit and patroni@e India, and his

ideal of perfection is that of becoin$ a $reat coloni@er and adinistrator. 2ou$las pipe

becoes, in -livias e!es, the s!bol of officialdo in India7

2ou$las had finished his brea(fast and now lit his ornin$ pipe 1he so(ed a pipe

alost constantl! now5. +e puffed at it as slowl! and stolidl! as he had eaten. #he has

alwa!s loved hi for these )ualities& for his iperturbabilit!, his En$lish solidness and

stren$thD his anliness/ +e cannot even $et e pre$nant. #he cried ;ust !ou so(e

that dashed pipe/ In this heat/ 1+*2 ==95

-livias disappointent vis a vis 2ou$las notwithstandin$, his handlin$ of the erchants

as if he were pla!in$ a usical instruent of which he had entirel! astered the stops0 1+*2

F>5 and his coent that the! thin( the! are fri$htfull! cunnin$ but reall! the! are li(e

children0 1+*2 F45 indicate that he has ver! nearl! reached perfection accordin$ to the iperial

tenets. -livia with her (een un&%aundiced e!e and her heart full of the sensibilit! that is so


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with an e"citable ur$e to brea( out of her hereticall! sealed European interior and eet her

environent face to face. -livia starts $oin$ out with the 6awab and then to hi at the palace at

Ahat. *nd after a few visits, she discovers soethin$ curious& that she was $ettin$ to (now the

real India and love her well, even her heat and dust& the two ost dreaded opponents of the

ritish in India7

*lthou$h the wa! was so hot and dust!, the landscape utterl! flat and onotonous, -livia

learned to li(e these ornin$ drives. #oeties she $lanced out of the window and then

she thou$ht well it was not so bad reall!& she could even see how one could learn to li(e

it 1in fact, she was learnin$57 the vast distances, the vast s(!, the dust and the sun and

occasional bro(en fort or os)ue or cluster of tobs. It was so different fro what one

(new that it was li(e bein$ not in a different part of this world but in another world

alto$ether, in another realit!. 1+*2 435

-livias spirit flowers in this other realit! so spontaneousl! that she can reali@e a

coplete eancipation fro the fears and cople"es that inhibit her race in an alien land, and

can e"perience the ecstas! of an inter&racial counion. -livia loses her wave len$th with her

own people and, filled with stren$th )uite un(nown to the earlier -livia, resists the pressures that

e"act conforit! and coura$eousl! places her personal instincts above the instincts of the herd.

+er spiritual successors estiate of her fift! !ears later is a valuable coent on the wa! India

chan$ed -livia7

I still dont thin( there was an!thin$ ver! special about -liviaD I ean that she started off

with an! special )ualities. 'hen she first cae here she a! reall! have been what she

seeedD a prett! !oun$ woan, rather vain, pleasure see(in$, a little petulant. Bet to do


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what she did& and then to stic( to it all her life lon$& she could not have reained the

sae person8 1+*2 3:&9?5

India alwa!s chan$es people0 1+*2 G5, the ob%ective narrator declared at the be$innin$

of her stor!, su$$estin$ that her stateent holds $ood for both ears. In iperial India, as we have

seen, noral health! !oun$ en and woen were transfored into insufferable snobs and

separatists or, as in the case of -livia, seduced fro their counit! and claied b! India.

Independent India, too, as depicted in =:>3 section, chan$es her aliens in one wa! or another.

ut what the narrator testifies, throu$h a depiction of her own fate side b! side with that of

-livias is that of -livias is that Indias capacit! for assiilatin$ her aliens was considerabl!

eroded in the separatist conte"t of ritish India.

-livia had cut herself off fro her own people, had never $one bac( to En$land, and had

even desired creation after death, but was not swept into the ainstrea of Indian life as was

Jud! and the narrator of the novel. +er destin!, unli(e theirs, didnt encopass the %o!s of

ph!sical affinit! with India. 'hile theirs is alive with oveent and teein$ with possibilities,

hers is fro@en and iobile. -livias life in India is a little house standin$ )uiet b! itself on a

ountain led$e0 1+*2 =>H5 has held for her onl! a supree isolation.

+owever, the spiritual enrichent that accopanies -livias isolation is her reward for

lovin$ India. If she had sta!ed behind in the area dearcated b! the civil lines of #atipur, she

would onl! have becoe, li(e ;rs. #aunders, a victi of her e"cessive sensibilit!. ! throwin$

in her lot with the East in a oent of crisis, she is saved fro that fate. -livia spends a lifetie

coutin$ with the s(! and the ountains of India attainin$ in the process a richness of soul

that is reco$ni@ed b! the narrator an! !ears after her death. The little house on the ountain


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led$e preserves the stap of -livias distinctive personalit! in its tattered !ellow furnishin$s,

and the aroa of her cultivated sensibilit! in its ute piano and crublin$ ebroider! frae.

+er presence, powerfull! felt b! the narrator, pervades the ountains on which her ashes have

been scattered. +er spiritual enrichent is hinted at in the view fro the window which, thou$h

shrouded in ist, is ia$ined b! the narrator to encopass ountain pea(s hi$her than an! Ive

ever dreaed ofD the snow on the8whiter than all other snow& so white it is luinous8

a$ainst a s(! which is of a deeper blue than an! !et (nown to e 1+*2 =4?5. -livias destin!

doesnt hold the sli$htest of the evaporation of personalit! that was Evies inA New Dominionor

of the stru$$le unto death that her creator envisa$ed for herself in ;!self in India07

-f course, this fi$htin$ to reain European cant $o on indefinitel! and in the end I

bound to lose& if onl! at the point where ! ashes are iersed in the Kan$es to the

accopanient of Vedic h!ns and then who will sa! that I have not trul! er$ed with

India/

-livia is er$ed with India in the wa! the novelist visuali@es above as defeat.

#i$nificantl!, she accoplishes it neither after fi$htin$ a losin$ battle to retain her Europeans

li(e Ruth Jhabvala, nor b! surrenderin$ it totall! li(e Evie. *fter her hurried fli$ht fro the harsh

restrictions of the En$lish cap, -livia needs space and li$ht in which her awa(enin$ spirit can

coe to full flowerin$. #he retires to the ountains where solitude in the 'ordsworthian sense is

hers.


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In this, her final novel of India, Ruth Jhabvala deonstrates how those two approach

India with the virile, easured, European feelin$0 advocated b! ;a%or ;innies find no place in

India, e"cept in the separatist re$ie of the Ra%. ;r. and ;rs. Crawford, who had ade such a

splendid success of their life in ritish India, find that capacit! $one after independence.

Incapable of adaptin$ to a new India in which the! are no lon$er the privile$ed class, the! sell

their house in Aasauli and $o bac( to En$land. 2r. #aunders is never heard of a$ain and ;a%or

;innies chooses to spend the rest of his da!s in India and utili@in$ the in writin$ a ono$raph

on the sub%ect of the fatal attraction that India has for soe of her aliens& aon$ who he

counted hiself. India, the narrator believes, alwa!s reained for hi an opponent, even

soeties an ene!, to be $uarded and if necessar! fou$ht a$ainst fro without and, especiall!,

fro within7 fro within ones own bein$.0 1+*2 =>=5

In the India of the seventies the wheel has turned full circle and Europeans coe not to

con)uer but to be con)uered0. Reactin$ a$ainst their own convoluted civili@ations, soe coe to

see( a sipler and ore natural wa! of life0 1+*2 :35& others a source of faith. The! dress and

eat li(e the natives, ore freel! aon$ the, attach theselves to ashras and spout Indian

ideolo$!. *ll are seein$l! assiilated. The narrator bears witness to this phenoenon7

Chid and I have now both er$ed into the landscape7 we are part of the town, part of

peoples lives here, and have been copletel! accepted. The town is used to acceptin$

and er$in$ all sorts of different eleents. 1+*2 >45

ut the ver! absence of a dividin$ line a(es the aliens e"posure to the Indian ethos a

$larin$ one and puts to a strenuous test his abilit! to find a peranent restin$ place in the

countr!. Ruth Jhabvalas European characters of the =:>3 section are seen either as daa$ed b!


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India and in i$noinious retreat, or suffused with new life and blessed with a new vision of the

universe. 'hether the! succeed or failD whether the! are destro!ed or created a new depends on

the )ualities of sensibilit! the! have brou$ht to their Indian e"perience. The En$lish bo! Chid

and the !oun$ couple, who cae out to India to find peace and found d!senter! instead, fail to

pass the test because of the superficialit! of their involveent with India. In a swift revolution of

the wheel of response, the! have their fill of India and hasten bac( to where the! belon$. In a

wa!, the novel conve!s a essa$e that onl! soe of her aliens are eanin$full! absorbed b!

India while rests are re%ected. 'ith her coura$e to own her liitations, Ruth Jhabvala has

aditted in ;!self in India0 that her own approach to India is analo$ous in spirit to the one she

a(es ;a%or ;innies advocate in the novel and that she counted herself aon$ those who are

re%ected b! India. Bet, her ia$inative pro%ection of westerners in the novel includes, aon$

people li(e herself, two stron$ woen who possess the sensibilit! and openness to e"perience

that, in their creators valuation, are essential to India. The diver$ence between the sub%ective

and the ia$inative approaches to India creates a draa )uite uni)ue in e"patriate fiction.

Characters li(e -livia and the narrator coe closer to Ruth Jhabvalas criterion of worth

re$ardin$ India than she herself and are therefore included, thou$h the nature of their inclusion

differs in the two different conte"ts of iperial and independent India.

* sense of historical continuit! is fostered in the novel b! a depiction of the present

coentin$ on the past as also b! a deft interweavin$ of scenes fro each. In the novel two

stories run siultaneousl! with their twists and turns followin$ a coon route in a coon

landscape of two hot, dust! little towns of central India. The! are the stories of two woen

lin(ed not b! birth but b! the coon sensitivit! and openness the! brin$ to the land in which

the! are e"patriated. Thou$h differin$ vastl! in character and teperaent, their responses to


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India and their e"periences in it are astonishin$l! siilar. *n illusion of tie havin$ stood still is

created b! the device of pro%ectin$ the two woens e"perience a$ainst a coon c!cle of

seasonal chan$e. oth coe out to India in the earl! suer, e"perience eotional ecstas!

throu$h an inter&racial union in the hot dust! onths, and are faced with the necessit! of a(in$

a a%or decision& whether to cast their lot in favor of the East or of the 'est& durin$ the onsoon

and are seen thereafter aon$ the ountains see(in$ a dil! visuali@ed spiritual $oal.

Throu$h the double perspective of continuit! and chan$e, Ruth Jhabvala presents her

ost coposite picture up&to&date of a historical, sociolo$ical and spiritual India and e"aines

the differin$ depths of the aliens penetration into the two Indians& the separatist one of the Ra%

and the catholic one of post independence. Jhabvala also e"plores the thee of east&west

relations that affir *@i@s prophetic rear(s in A Passage to India7 'e shall drive ever!

blasted En$lishan into the sea, and then 8!ou and I shall be friends.0 1*PI F=>5

Ruth Jhabvala sets half her narrative in =:GF, a tie when ritish rule in India had

alread! spanned two centuries. Bet the ritish residents of #atipur, li(e their counterparts of

Chandrapore, aintain the old divisions between the ruler and the ruled in the sae spirit of

racist superiorit! that served as their predecessors protection a$ainst the ever present threat of

suber$ence in a lower culture. The old India hands0 of #atipur whose e"perience went bac(

several $enerations0 1+*2 =35 clai that the! (now all there is to (now about India, but are

actuall! still perple"ed and repelled b! the countr! in which the! live. The! believe that their

onl! chance of survival in it lies in a careful fulfillin$ of their iperial obli$ations which

presupposes a conscientious adherence to the line separatin$ the white fro the native and an

unwaverin$ faith in the rule of the white. #uch a faith has, inherent in it, the seeds of restriction

and iobilit!. ! ta(in$ awa! his ri$ht to rule, the representatives of the Ra% restrict and


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prevent the 6awab of Ahats natural oveent on the path of an inherited tradition, once fier!

and doinant but now reduced b! the to a bare nothin$& the nae of his (in$do Khatmbein$

a s!bolic one eanin$ e"hausted or consued. ut it is not the native alone who is affected.


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dictates of #ila. ;r. Crawford, the collector and his burra memeth are the accepted odels in

their counit! for all !oun$ En$lishen and woen out in India for the! have ade a

coplete success of livin$ on the ri$ht side of the dividin$ line. The te"t boo( ia$e of 2ou$las

as the best t!pe of En$lishan in India a(es -livia falls in love with hi and arries hi.

+owever, the en and woen who ebod! all that is best in the ritish counit! are

subtl! transfored into dull and snobbish stereot!pes in the novel. i(e


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the sort of people found in the Indian services0. 1+*2 GH5 In fact, it is her second class status in

her counit! that has, in the readers conviction, provided the ipetus for her ph!sical and

ental decline. * creature of e"cessive sensibilit!, ;rs. #aunders finds herself incapable of

eetin$ the deands of her life in #atipur. Isolated fro her counit!, ne$lected b! her

husband and deprived of the %o!s of otherhood, she $rows lonelier, ore h!sterical, and ore

violent with each passin$ !ear in India. * corrosive eleent inherent in the s!ste is hinted at b!

the novelist as responsible for this internal deca! as well as for the wa! India becoes the

scape$oat for her frustrations.

*nother character of sensibilit! and e)uall! a victi of s!ste is +arr! who stands at the

opposite end fro ;rs. #aunders in his relationship with India. Possessin$ a (eener awareness

than hers, her reco$ni@es that his sufferin$s in $eneral and in India in particular ste fro the

restrictions iposed b! the superior public school En$lishan who run the adinistration in

India7 The!re the sort of people whove ade life hell for e ever since I can reeber0

1+*2 =9=5, he rear(s of the officials in #atipur. +arr!s love for 6awab who he sees as the

ideal anti&t!pe of the public school oralists a(es hi hate the Ra% and its coercive tendencies.

+e reco$ni@es that there is no basic difference between the wa! his countr!en treat Indians and

the wa! the! treat a eber of their own tribe who does not confor. In reaction, +arr! flouts

the dividin$ line and firl! entrenches hiself in the Indian cap. Thou$h he e"periences that

%o!s of true friendship is onl! teporaril!, for throu$h +arr!s e"perience 1and that of -livias5

Ruth Jhabvala affirs the


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ever doubted that the 6awab had used -livia as a eans of reven$e. Even the ost liberal and

s!pathetic *n$lo&Indian, such as ;a%or ;innies, was convinced of it0 1+*2 =>?5.

It is true that the 6awab views -livias pre$nanc! lar$el! in ters of a reven$e on a race

which believed that the secret of leadership la! in the En$lish blood and the dut! of (eepin$ that

blood pure was on the En$lish race. In a societ! that $lares inter&racial unions and re%ects the

Eurasian, the 6awab $leefull! loo(s forward to the birth of his half En$lish child7 'ait till !

son is born, he said7 then the!ll lau$h fro the other side of their ouths0 1+*2 =9=5. ut there

is ore to the 6awabs feelin$s for -livia than his use of her as an instruent of reven$e. -livia

under$oes an abortion to save her counit! fro shae. ut her action, thou$h it frustrates the

6awabs reven$e, does not drive the apart. #he is for$iven b! the 6awab but not b! the epire

builders. Confronted b! 2r. #aunders, she escapes to the 6awab and is peranentl! separated

fro her own people.

i(e the heroine of a t!pical e"patriate novel of the pre&


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thus alienatin$ herself fro her own counit!. +er stor! ends not with a tearful reconciliation

with her husband but with an i$noinious fli$ht with a native ruler.

Thus the novel purports to be the stor! of a beautiful, newl! arried !oun$ En$lish lad!

-livia who coes to India with her husband 2ou$las Rivers who is a civil servant, in a sall,

stuff!, suffocatin$ town of #atipur. The author roas freel! into the past and the present and

interconnects the two. -livia is bored b! the dull *n$lo& Indian societ! in whose idst she has to

live. #he eets the 6awab of the sall and be$$arl! state of Ahata situated a few iles awa!

and soon discovers in hi one person in India to be interested in her wa! she was used to80 in

En$land. This attraction is utual and culinates in her elopeent with hi.

In nutshell this is the central stor!, which ta(es place in the !ear =:GF. It is told b! her

step&$rand dau$hter, the dau$hter of the son of 2ou$las Rivers b! his second wife. The narrator

is ver! !oun$. #he was %ust three !ears old when 2ou$las died. eth Crawford was her auntie,

and Tessie, eths sister, her $randother. Tessie arried 2ou$las after he $ot a divorce fro

-livia. The !oun$ narrator is Tessies $randdau$hter and she decides to visit India to unravel the

!ster! of -livias e"istence. +ence she travels to India to discover, in a wa!, the India of

-livia, her wa! of life, her friends, her parties, her $oin$s&on, her escapades, finall! culinatin$

in her elopeent with the !oun$ ;usli 6awab. Thus -livias India was $atherin$ dust that has

been cleared b! the narrators attept at reconstructin$ her 1-livias5 life in India. In this

endeavor she is encoura$ed b! the letters, which -livia had written to her sister in =:GF. The

letters had coe into her possession throu$h +arr!, a friend of the 6awab and -livia. The

narrator sta!s in the town, visits the places entioned in the letters and reconstructs the tale of

half a centur! old scandal ver! vividl! and in $reat detail. Even as she unravels this !ster! step

b! step, she unfolds another stor!, hardl! less iportant, of which she herself is the heroine.


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These two stories ove forward siultaneousl! and the! end with the !oun$er heroine see(in$

refu$e in the sae reote place in which the elder lived the rest of her life after she had left her

husband.

The narrator, bein$ !oun$, $ives us a double view of India throu$h the old as well as the

!oun$ En$lish e!es, that of -livias and her own. The scene of action of both the stories is

#atipur and its nei$hborhood. There is a $reat siilarit! between the incidents in the lives of the

two heroines. oth are En$lish woen who coe to India and sta! in the sae place, both have

an affair with a arried Indian, both becoe pre$nant, and finall! both withdraw fro the hustle

and bustle of urban life to the )uiet and solitude of a ountain retreat.

The narrator is warned on the ver! first da! of her arrival at oba! b! the issionar!

lad! at her hostel, that nothin$ huan eans an!thin$ here, not a thin$. The first thin$ that she

does on coin$ to #atipur is to rent a roo. #he thin(s that she is luc(! to find one on the top of

a cloth shop. It has been sublet to her b! a $overnent officer, Inder al. #he has to share the

bathroo facilities down in the !ard with a nuber of other tenants. The onl! piece of furniture

she has is a ver! sall des( of the hei$ht of a footstool, on which she la!s out her papers. The

walls and the doors are bare and the windows are without curtains. *fter $ivin$ the description

of her own roo, the narrator proceeds to brin$ out the contrast between herself and her step

$randother -livia7

#he was ever!thin$ I was not. The first thin$ she did on ovin$ into their house 1the

*ssistant Collectors5 was sotherin$ it in ru$s, pictures, and flowers. 1+*2 ==5


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contrast in their dresses and food habits. 'hile the narrator becoes copletel! Indianite, -livia

reains the uncoproisin$ aristocratic lad!.

These parallel contrasts continue throu$hout the novel. -livia and the narrator happen to

see hi%ras 1eunuchs5 sin$ and dance but under different circustances. The asculine dress of

the narrator a(es the people on the road call her a hi%ra and she $oes to see the sin$ and

dance in a side street in the copan! of Inder al. #he had heard about the fro one of the

letters of -livia. The 6awab once told her that ;rs. Crawford 1the flat chaste wife of the

Collector5 loo(ed li(e a hi%ra. -livia as(ed hi what the word eant whereupon he shouted

with lau$hter and, instead of e"plainin$, ordered a troupe of the to be brou$ht in and ade

the sin$ and dance before her.

The contrastin$ reactions to the suer heat and dust stors are clearl! recorded in the

novel. 'hile -livia shuts herself up with closed and heavil! curtained doors, her counterpart

(eeps the onl! window of her roo alwa!s open. The walls are bare and the windows

uncurtained. *t ni$ht, li(e all Indians in the town, she dra$s her bed into the court!ard and sleeps

under the open s(!. There is then a feelin$ of bein$ iersed in space& thou$h not in ept!

spaces, for there are all these people sleepin$ all around e, the whole town and I a part of it0.

1+*2 395

This %u"taposin$ of the two heroines in their actions, reactions, views and tastes is

continued throu$hout the novel. The 6awab eets beautiful -livia for the first tie when the

En$lish counit! is invited to his palace for a dinner. * few da!s later the 6awab pa!s a

surprise visit to -livias house when 2ou$las is absent and ta(es her on a picnic to the sacred

$rove of aba


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roc(s and the 6awab be$ins to tal( of iracles. The! pla! a $ae of usical chairs and -livia is

irresistibl! attracted to the !oun$ 6awab. The 6awab tells -livia of his ancestor, *anullah

Ahan, who $ot his title in =4=>. +e was a valiant fi$hter, but finall! settled for a sall state and

title because he was tired of war. The present 6awab, too, feels tired because he has to sit idle in

his $or$eous palace. The 6awab narrates to -livia the stor! of *anullah Ahans valour and

fi$htin$ spirit. -nce a ;arwar prince displeased hi b! not offerin$ hi opiu in the

appropriate silver chalice& and *anullah Ahan too( it as a ar( of insult thou$h it was onl! a

trifle and an insi$nificant lapse on the part of the prince. To settle the score, the 6awab invited

the ;arwar prince and his retainers for a part!, a cereonial tent was put up and there were the

usual civilities of reception and ebracin$. 'hen $uests sat up in the tent, a secret si$n was

ade, and the ropes of the tent were cut leavin$ the ;arwar prince and his en entan$led and

trapped in the canvas. Then *anullha and his inhuan soldiers stabbed each one of the to

death with da$$ers. The !oun$ 6awab $loats over this shaeless act of the (illin$ of invited

$uests and sa!s to -livia7 'e still have that tent and the bold is so fresh and new, -livia, it is as

if it happened !esterda!. 1+*2 =F>5

It is stran$e that after narratin$ the treacherous stor! of bloodbath in the tent, the 6awab

ta(es -livia to bed. +e leads her awa! fro the shrine and the! lie to$ether under a tree. It is

here that the! have their final se"ual union, which he huorousl! calls the secret of the

+usbands 'eddin$ 2a!. The narrator and Inder al, too, have their first se"ual union here,

and afterwards Inder al too tells the sae %o(e the 6awab had told -livia7 what had happened

here on the ori$inal +usbands 'eddin$ 2a! to a(e the barren wife pre$nant.0

#hortl! after these incidents both woen becoe pre$nant. -livia reveals her condition

first to the 6awab who is certain that he is the father of the child and he as(s her to leave her


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husband and sta! in his palace. 'hen 2ou$las coes to (now about her pre$nanc! he is e)uall!

happ!, for, he has no idea of -livias fre)uent& alost dail!& visits to Ahat and her intiac!

with the 6awab. The first to (now about the narrators condition is ;a%i, who is a poor old

widow. Re$ardin$ -livias pre$nanc!, both the 6awab and 2ou$las are happ! and loo( forward

to her confineent. In the eantie the 6awab, who is involved in cases of dacoit! and is

threatened with an en)uir!, is sure that when his child is born the! 1his En$lish persecutors5 will

lau$h fro the other side of their ouths.0 1+*2 =935

-livia, on the other hand is fri$htened b! the conse)uences of her $ivin$ birth to a child

with dar( hair, and so she decides to $o in for an abortion and this operation is perfored b! two

Indian woen under the supervision of the 6awabs other. ater she is aditted to 2r.

#aunders hospital that has had e"perience of an! such cases. *fter $ettin$ relieved fro the

hospital, she does not return to 2ou$las. #he, soehow, ana$es to $o to the palace where she is

well received b! the 6awab. *s she does not choose to $o to En$land, he bu!s a house for her in

the ountains where she lives in coplete seclusion with all the coforts provided b! the

6awab. Bears after -livias death, the narrator with Inder als child in her wob visits this

place. The narrator, too, ta(es a house in the town overloo(ed b! the ountain. #he awaits her

confineent, which she hopes to have in an ashra further up on the ountain slope. Thus the

novel ends with the narrator arrivin$ at the sae place as the heroine of her narrative.

It is stran$e that the !oun$ narrative see(in$ to reconstruct -livias life in India behaves

in the sae wa! as her step $randother had done !ears a$o. Inder al is worlds apart fro the

6awab. #iilarl!, -livias e"perience cant be tered identical with that of the !oun$ narrators

b! an! stretch of ia$ination. It is stran$e that the !oun$ narrator ta(es Inder al as her lover

who is onl! a cler( with a subissive air. It is the sae fertilit! shrine and the sae celebration


20/25

of the +usbands 'eddin$ 2a!. -ne wonders how two people belon$in$ to different $enerations

under$o siilar e"perience at the sae location.

*s has alread! been entioned Indian environent has a stri(in$ effect on the European

sensibilit!. -livia used to shut up in her bun$alow throu$h the da!, to protect herself fro the

harsh cliate. #he reinds of Jhabvala herself who spea(s of her bein$ iuned in an air&

conditioned roo in spite of fre)uent power failures. The oppressive heat and dust affect the

writers sensibilit! too7 India swallows e up and now it sees to e that I a no lon$er in !

roo but in the white hot cit! streets under a white hot s(!.0=

The Europeans are used to a cool cliate. The! abhor the heat and the dust, the $ers

and the diseases that India has to offer to her visitors. The heart of the Indian suer a$$ravates

the European sensibilit! that has alread! been disturbed b! Indias povert!. In this connection,

the suitabilit! of the title becoes )uite evident. Jhabvala describes the ipact of the heat on

herself and her fellow Europeans7

-nl! those who have lived throu$h da!s of endless Indian heat (now their effect on ones

behavior. The 'estern characters in ! novel are aa@ed at theselves. The! !ell at

servants7 ;! Kod, the! as(, whats happenin$ to e/ ;! western characters that of

course include !self& have reason to be appalled at the transforation to which the! are

bein$ sub%ected. *lon$ with their behavior their ost cherished principles and feelin$s

see to be chan$in$.G

;a%or ;innies ono$raph on the influence of India on the European consciousness and

characters sus up in a concise wa! the Europeans reactions to India. It is in fact, Jhabvala who


21/25

spea(s throu$h ;a%or ;innie, when he refers to India as an ene! who finds out the ost

vulnerable spot and stri(es at it. The author sa!s7

Bes, concluded the ;a%or, it is all ver! well to love and adire India& intellectuall!,

aestheticall!, he did not ention se"uall!, but he ust have been aware of that factor too& but

alwa!s with a virile easured European feelin$. -ne should never, he warned, allow oneself to

becoe softened 1li(e Indians5 b! an e"cess of feelin$D because the oent that happens, the

oent one e"ceeds ones easure& one is in dan$er of bein$ dra$$ed over to the other side.

1+*2 =>H&>35

India to ;a%or ;innies and Jhabvala reains an opponent to be fou$ht both fro within and

without, especiall! fro ones own bein$.

Jhabvalas attepts to recreate India of the twenties and thirties are ar(ed b! a flair for

the e"otic, stran$e and odd eleents of life. The incidence of riots at Ahat, of the suttee, of

the dacoits, and 6awabs involveent in each of these, the $a! parties, the hi%ras& these are

events that depict India as a countr! of heat and dust, as e"otic, especiall! fro a European point

of view. *$ainst the bac(drop of such an attitude, the portra!al of odern India reains totall!

one sided, unbalanced and incoplete.

The worst thin$ about the novel is that it $ives a biased picture of India. * !oun$ En$lish

$irl in post&independence India finds herself under$oin$ the sae (ind of e"perience as her step

$randother had under$one durin$ colonial da!s. Indians are $enerall! described as dirt! and

dishonest. This is corroborated b! an En$lish $irls response to the prevailin$ Indian situation,

the En$lish $irl sa!s that she had coe to India to $et peace, but all she could $et was d!senter!.


22/25

*nd her !oun$ an sa!s7 Thats all an!one finds here0.


23/25

It sees that the author had herself underta(en this (ind of a %ourne! throu$h soe dust! under&

developed countr!side on a ;a! afternoon and fored this biased ipression about the entire

countr!. #uch passa$es a(e one conclude that her vision is one&sided and biased.

In fact, Jhabvalas interest in India lar$el! pertains to that aspect of Indian life, which is

e"otic and startlin$. This can be seen fro her view of se" as is depicted in the novel. *s alread!

entioned, Chid is a +indu ascetic but is alwa!s hun$r!, not onl! for food. +e also needs se"

ver! badl!. In fact, Jhabvala treats India as a land of )uaint custos. Even -livia becoes a

victi of the priitive practices adopted b! soe of the woen in rural India dealin$ with such

delicate issues as iscarria$e. This curious cross&cultural encounter is described in the

followin$ words7

8+e 12r. #aunders5 (new about Indian iscarria$es and the eans eplo!ed to brin$

the about. The ost coon of these was the insertion of a twi$ seared with the %uice of a

certain plant (nown to Indian idwives. In his tie, 2r. #aunders had e"tracted an! such twi$s

fro woen brou$ht to hi for so called iscarria$es. *fterwards he confronted the $uilt!

woen and threw the out of the hospital. #oeties he slapped the& he had stron$ ideas

about oralit! and how to uphold it. ut even he aditted that certain allowances i$ht be

ade for these native woen born in i$norance and dirt. There was no such e"tenuatin$

circustance for -livia. 1+*2 =9:5

It would not be incorrect to observe that the novel a(es a poor social histor!. -ne

doubts whether )uaint custos li(e sati continued till the be$innin$ of the twentieth centur!.

ut the writer is interested onl! in the odd and the e"otic. #uch fictional creation doesnt

confor to realit! because there is no attept at the balanced presentation of facts. *nother


24/25

cause of her failure as an artist in the novel is that she does not e"plore the inner life of her

characters. Jhabvala (eeps the doors and windows of their ps!che totall! shut and we have to

reain content with erel! their surface portra!al.

Thus, the novel contains an! contrived incidents. There is hardl! a scene in the novel,

which is $enuinel! ovin$ or over&whelin$ real. In her attept to contrast the var!in$ attitudes

of two $enerations of En$lish woen in India, there is too uch literar! anipulation. In fact, in

her attept to please the forei$n readers, Jhabvala presents India as an anthropolo$ical

showpiece. Thus the novel is a s(illfull! anipulated picture of princel! India.


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6otes

=. Jhabvala, ivin$ in India0London Magazine1#ept. =:>?5 p.HG2. Jhabvala, ;oonli$ht, Jasine and Ric(ets0, The New York Times 16ew Bor(7 *p.GG,

=:>35 p.F3

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

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