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CHAPTER -IV

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RAJA RAO AND

RABINDRANATH TAGORE`S NOVEL

The present chapter deals with comparison and contrast

between Rabindranath Tagore and Raja Rao as far as their ideology

of nationalism and spiritualism and its thematic delineation

compassing narrative technique and mythical treatment. Tagore is a

philosopher, patriotic, poet laureate, educationist, teacher and social

reformer while Rao is ardent scholar and teacher of philosophy,

worldly experienced person as far as knowledge of varied cultures

are concern.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861) was from upper class Bengali

family.He is the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize for his

notable Geetanjali. From 1879 to 1880, Tagore attended University

College in London. Raja Rao was born in 1909 in the village of

Hassana, in Mysore belongs to an old South Indian Brahmin family.

He took initial education from Hyderabad and later on in Aligarh. He

completed BA degree from Nizam College, Hyderabad. In France he

has learned French Literature at the University of Monpellier and

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completed Doctorate degree at University of Sorbonne. During the

education, he came in contact with Dickenson. Besides the novel

writing, he wrote a couple of essays in the early thirties. Nearly in all

his work we find his love for motherland and his fascination for

Indian culture. Being an intellectual and much travelling experienced

person, he was fascinated by the thrust of spiritual knowledge.

During 1940 Raostayed in Banaras to have first-hand

knowledge of the spiritual tradition of India where he seriously

thought to turn a sanyasi. He came in contact Swami Atmanand, the

great Vedantic scholar. Rao accepted Swami Atmanand as his Guru,

guide and mentor. He studied thoroughly the works of Ralpho Waldo

Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman admirer of

Vedantic philosophy. Later on he worked as a visiting philosopher

and lectured at various American universities.

Rabindranath Tagore also deeply influenced by western

authors. During his stay in England, he had come in contact with

some eminent professors. The writing of Tagore is affected by the

romantic poets like Keats, Shelley, and Wordsworth etc. The great

Victorians Tennyson & Browning exercise powerful influence on

him. Tagore was deeply interested in reading the literary works of

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Shakespeare & Thomas Browne. The deep contact with the eminent

authors laid an impact on Tagore’s poetic style when he wrote in

English

Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913 for

Literature for his poetry collection Gitanjali. He also entitled

‘Gurudev’, ‘National poet’, ‘philosopher’ ‘educationalist’ etc.by the

nation. He is also appreciatd for his contemporary historical and

philosophical writing. Raja Raotoo won the SahityaAakademi

Award, the highest literary award for his ‘The Serpentand the

Rope’. He was also awarded the ‘Padma Bhushan’ by the

government of India. He is aptly considered to be the most brilliant-

and certainly the most interesting-writer of modern India.Raja Rao

emerged as the prolific writer on international scenario. Rao’s deep

philosophical and religious concerns left him little time for literature.

Raja Rao is one of the greatest of Indian novelists writing in the

English language. He has only three novels, besides a number of

short stories and essays and sketches to his credit. But what he

penned down has much literary value and hence he has been

acclaimed as not only Indian but international reputation.

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Gurudev Tagore, the most prominent Indian novelist. He has

written seven novels which were translated into English. The novel

Gora was written in 1909 in his own mother-tongue Bengali. The

novel Gora was translated into English by Thomson in 1924. It is his

fifth novel & considered as masterpiece of Tagore. The novel is

believed to be an expression of Tagore’s own transition from Hindu

revivalism to universal brotherhood of nationalism to

internationalism, from acceptance of rigid Brahmanism & Hinduism

to the religion of man. The novel The Home& the World, Kavita,

‘Sisher’ and Four Chapters were originally written in Bengali but

he himself had translated The Home & the world into English. The

Four Chapters was published in English in 1950 after his death. The

songs of Gitanjali were published in English when he was in

England.. He was master of poetry & therefore, he had written more

than thousand line verses before he was eighteen. The contribution

of Tagore to English & Bengali literature is noteworthy. The work of

Tagore delighted the people of Bengal. Even the translated versions

of his novels were admired.The authors like W.B. Yeats, C.F.

Andrews, Henry Newman & other authors praised Tagore’s mastery

over English language.

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Raja Rao gave due importance to philosophy in his writing. While

discussing various ideologies, he is creative and innovative. During

the journey in the west, he has thoroughly studied western

philosophy and compared it with Indian. He is fully inspired by the

knowledge of Advaita Vedanta of sanskara. In his writing and in

actual practical life too, Rao always tried to search for truth. His

quest of spirituality leads him to study thoroughly the Indian

Philosophy and literature. Even he viewed that literature is nothing

but a‘sadhana’. Once he tried to be sanyansi for the sake of Indian

philosophy. Nearly all his novels and stories deal with spirituality

and various philosophies. In his novels we do find Gandhism,

communism, Vedenta and Tantra. His interest in philosophy made

him to visit different ashrams in India in search of spiritual guidance.

Throughout his life, Tagore travelled all over the world and

lectured on various philosophies and ideas. He has his own creative

remarks on philosophical, national, imperialism, education and

religion. The foundation for Tagore’s literary achievements is his

vision of the universal man, based on his unique integration of

Eastern and Western thought.

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Tagore is a prolific author of more than one hundred books of

verse, fifty dramas, forty works of fiction, and fifteen books of

essays to his credit. Nobel laureate Tagore is recognized as a

pioneer in Bengali literature, and also internationally acclaimed as

one of the world’s finest lyric poets. The foundation for Tagore’s

literary achievements is his vision of the universal man, based on his

unique integration of Eastern and Western thought.

Being Rao an active participant in the Quit India Movement of

1942, he has also firsthand knowledge of Gandhian nationalistic

movement for the sake of independence and the psyche of Indians

regarding the nation. He also actively participated in the formation of

a cultural organization, ‘Shri Vidya Samiti’ and ‘Chetana’, intending

to imbibe the values of ancient Indian civilization.

While Rabindranath Tagore deliberately had remained aloof from

the active politics, though he was born in political family. He only

composed some songs for the annual session of Indian National

Congress which was held in Calcutta in 1896. Tagore, scholarly

personality of Bengal was fluctuant in the political movements. Still

he is considered as a great nationalist due to his ardent views in

relation to the education, nationalism and social. He was really very

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proud of ancient Indian society in which the students took lessons

from their Brahmin gurus in a serene atmosphere. Rabindranath

Tagore was never keen for the political freedom. Tagore had a proud

of ancient Indian history where the people used to live in absolute

peace and tranquility. The villages were self- sufficient and

independent & the elderly people used to think about the welfare of

the community.

Tagore and Rao are philosophers and nationalist. As far as

their views of nationalism are concern, they are similar to some

extent and dissimilar to large extent due to their spiritualisms and

experiences. Rao`s nationalism is synthesized with spiritualism and

religious politics. He has completely accepted the Gandhian

spiritualistic nationalism, in which love, sympathy, tolerance,

Swadeshi, harmonious blending of all religions and human values

plays a prominent roles. By accepting and revitalizing the glorious

past of Indian culture, spiritualism, Rao intends to resettle the

Ramrajya. Rao`s nationalism gives due importance to the Indian

history and spiritualistic philosophy.

While speaking about tag ore’s nationalism, we may say that

Tagore’s thoughts about nationalism are complex. He views the

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synthesis of East and West, nationalism into internationalism and

universal brotherhood. He believes that India should follow the ways

of West in relation to the scientific and material progress and the

progress may sustain the nationality among the masses. At the same

time, Tagore thinks the place of history and spirituality in the

nationalism. Being an ardent follower of Hinduism, he prefers fusion

and synthesis of east and west in the Indian context instead of

accepting the past history, in which there are various religion`s

invadation. Tagore criticized the Swadeshi movement laid by

Gandhi.

Raja Rao's involvement in the nationalist movement, his

journey in India and also in the West and his interest in philosophy is

reflected in his novels. ‘Kanthapura’ (1938) is an account of the

impact of Gandhi's teaching on non-violent resistance against the

British and his interest in ancient Indian Philosophical knowledge.

Kanthapura a small Mysore village in South India represents Indian

villages during the time of pre-independence. Rao has used various

ancient myths, tales and folk-epic of Vedanta, Mahabharata and

Ramayana.

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Being an ardent nationalist and humanist, he delineates the

various facets of nationalism in the context of India and tried to show

how nationalism is synthesized with spiritualism in the country from

the ancient period. He follows the Gandhian spiritual political theory

while delineating the story of this novel. In Kanthapura,

Congressmen including Moorthy follow homogenizing tendency of

nationalism. They insist on speaking Hindi instead of their mother

tongue Kannada. They reject the use of English. They begin to

wearkurtas and pyjamas, the local native dress. The novelist

remarkably sketches the Gandhian Swadeshi Movement. The very

conception of ‘Nation’, making nation and ‘Swadeshi’ spirits of

nationalism are at the core of the novel.

‘Kanthapura’ begins with historical consciousness to lead the

national sensibility and to arouse the national aspiration. The

novelist seems well aware about the very fact that history is the only

source to inspire and to make ready to boost the ancient cultural and

national values once again. An old woman who is the narrator of the

novel reminds the glorious past of Kanthapura by giving the details

of Sthalapurana, the Harikatha. The novelist has remarkably used

the techniques of historicizing.

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The novel also highlights colonialism versus Brahmanism. The

novel realistically highlights how the social leaders` campaign

against untouchability made Brahmanism to take stand against

nationalism. For Brahmanism, ‘the colonial ruler is not the enemy

but Gandhi’s anti-untouchable movement is’. The collusion between

Brahmanism and colonialism is suggested through the alliance

between Bhatta, Bade Khan the policeman and the Sahib of the

Estate. The novel brings forth the Indian nationalism and the conflict

between Brahmanism and nationalism.

In Kanthapura, Moorthy the follower of Gandhian political

ideology inspires the villagers. Like Gandhi he brings people of all

castes for the struggle against colonisers. Moorthy being a nationalist

in the true sense use sociality to unite the nation. His visits to the

untouchable quarters, and having discussions with poors, and various

personnel from different classes proves his Indian national theory.

His politics aims at assimilating the lower castes into the nationalist

movement. Religious and spiritual politics, one of the strongest ways

of nationalism is also highlighted in the novel. Nationalism meets the

discourse of religion at different levels in the novel. In Kanthapura,

the nationalists increasingly employ the religious discourse and

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customs and symbols for nationalist purposes. Religious activities

take place for the politician of the people. Even the customs, rituals

and symbols, arthi, puja, conches, bells, Vedanta, bhajan etc. are the

tools of nationalistic movements in the novel. The involvements of

lower castes in the religious rituals suggest their active participation

in the nationalistic activity. Nationalism is nurtured among all the

villagers including women and children too. M.K. Naik rightly

observes, “Raja Rao goes to the very roots of transformation by

demonstrating how the new nationalistic fervour in rural India in the

1930s blended completely with the age-old, deep-rooted spiritual

faith and thus revitalized the spiritual spring within and helped

rediscover the Indian soul.” (Naik, 365)

‘The Serpent and the Rope’ is Rao’s most ambitious work. If the

former is modeled on an Upa Purana (minor Purana), the latter is a

kind of Maha Purana (major Purana) or epic; geographically,

historically, philosophically, and formally, its sweep is truly epical.

The novel includes a variety of settings, ranging from Paris to

Ramaswamy’s ancestral home in a South Indian village, from

European locales such as Aix, Montpalais, Pau, Montpellier,

Provence, Cambridge, and London to Indian locales such as

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Hyderabad, Delhi, Lucknow, Bombay, Bangalore, and Beneras. Rao

delves into almost the whole of Indian history, from the invasion of

the Aryans to the advent of British rule; European history, chiefly the

Albigensian heresy; Chinese history—all of these come under

discussion as the protagonist, Rama, a historian by training,

expounds his theories in conversations with the leading characters.

Philosophically, too, the novel’s sweep is formidable: Rao discusses

Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Islam, Daoism, Marxism,

Darwinism, and Nazism.

While in the novels, Tagore has described in detail the social,

cultural, religious and political life of the nineteenth century Bengal.

The novel Gora which is considered as masterpiece of the novels

gives clear account of transition from Hindu revivalism to universal

brotherhood. It deals with clear idea of nationalism but ends with the

spirit of internationalism. The novel Gora was written in 1910 in

Bengali and later on in 1924 it was translated into English by W.W.

Thomson. Rabindranath Tagore deals with nationalism and

spirituality in his novels Gora, The Home and The World,

Chaturanga and Four Chapters. Each of the above novels focused

on different aspect of nationalism. The concept of nationalism

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depicted by Rabindranath Tagore is very important as far as Indian

Nationalism is concerned. Tagore’s nationalism is different from the

regional and national writers of India.

The Gora is essentially a nationalistic novel. Throughout this

novel Tagore has shown strong fight against British rule. The theme

of nationalism has been completely developed through the character

of freedom loving hero, Gora. Rabindranath Tagore has tried to show

that Gora’s character is with full of the spirit of nationalism. Both the

novelists have delineated the rural India. They are fully conscious

that India is truly live in the rural, distinct places rather than urban.

Each novel of both the writers has background of rural villages from

south or Bengal province, representing the true sensibility of India.

They view that Indian rich culture, tradition dwells in the rural India

only. Tagore himself was much interested rural India. He has shown

that how British rulers made poor villagers to suffer. In British rule,

rural Bengal was under the clutches of Police raj. The police raj and

sufferings of Bengali farmers have been clearly described by the

Tagore.

In the novel ‘Gora’, Rabindranath Tagore talks about the

village Ghosepura. In this village majority of the people were

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Muslim. They were Mohammedans. Faru sardar was their leader

who is very courageous man was afraid of no one. Tagore has

depicted the conflict between farmers and planetary. During dispute

with the planter Faru sadar had twice been put in jail for fighting the

police. The novel highlights the coverage of Faru sadar and

sympathy of Gora about the villages. Even form the beginning Gora

is not in the favor of any discrimination made on the basis of

religion, caste, race or ancestry. Though the villagers were Muslim

& Gora he was orthodox Hindu but yet he fought for those people. It

shows that though Gora was an orthodox Hindu but in his life there

was no place for any discrimination. He is the man of the principle

and doesn’t bend his own principles for some selfish reasons. The

treatment of the policemen’s to the villagers is unhumanistic. There

is no mercy, sympathy or justice, no place for law and other

civilians, no place for law and order. The protector of law had

become its violator and therefore, the condition of Bengal, especially

of Bengali farmers become worst. The condition of Faru Sardar’s

family is very worst in the novel. Due to the cruel Police Raj women

and children suffers a lot.Faru`s family is struggling against poverty

and British umpire. Even the children of the family were starving.

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Faru’s wife has a single dress which is also in worst condition, and

hence difficult to her to go out of the house. One of the neighbors

realized that Faru’s children are starving due to lack of food

therefore a kind hearted lady took Faru’s son to her own house.

Police had kept Faru in their custody. He was the only earning

person of the family. Yet in such a worst condition Faru shows the

spirit of nationalism. Yet he intends to fight for the independence of

the country. His struggle is at two different levels. At the one hand

he and his family are fighting for the nation and the other hand the

members of his family have to fight with poverty and starvation.

Tagore`s nationalism into internationalism is being projected

by him in his novels very remarkably. In his novels we find the

elements of nationalism and internationalism. There are several

social issues discussed in the novel, yet the overriding theme of the

novel is internationalism. Being a reluctant in Hinduism, Tagore

rendered Gora as a nationalist and also believer in the orthodox

principles of Hinduism.

Nearly in all his novels Rabindranath Tagore has described at

length the cruelty of the British rulers and also deals with

nationalism and spirituality. Tagore believes that Colonial Rule is

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one of the reasons to develop the self and national identity resulting

into patriotism among the Indians. He remarkably sketches the

injustice and cruelty of British rulers that brought all the nationalists

and revolutionaries together. They have the same purpose so they

were together. Tagore says that if there was no cruelty, injustice and

ill-treatment to the people, the movement for Indian independence

would not be organized.

In Gora, Tagore has described the tyranny of the British rulers

through the misdeeds of magistrate Brownlow. Magistrate had

several rights in order to maintain law and order into the state but it

is shown by Tagore that Brownlow uses his rights for wrong things.

He uses police force not for betterment of people but against the

people. Gora remarkably delineates the cruelty of British Rulers.

Tagore says:

The magistrate sentenced the boys to whippings of 5 to 25

stripes according to their age & extent of their offence. Gora had no

pleader acting for him, & in his own defense he tried to show how

unwarrantable the violence of the police had been but the magistrate

cut him short with a short rebuke &sentenced, him to a month’s

rigorous imprisonment for the interfering with the police in the

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discharge of their duties telling him that he ought to be grateful for

being let off so lightly.(Gora ; Page 157 )

Tagore has outrages of British rule on the innocent people of

the Bengal. Many characters of the novels have been devoted to the

description of many chapters of unjust recess of the British court in

India. The overall mood of the novel is that of the preparation of

freedom loving leaders like Gora. On reading the novel, we come to

understand that the mood of Tagore is to create freedom struggle &

its achievements through the portrayal of the hero Gora. Another

vocal tone in the novel is the strong defense of Hinduism & Brahmo

Samaj. The marriage of Lolita &Binoy shows about the conflict

between Hinduism & Brahmo Samaj. Even due to the deep

attachments of Binoy with Lolita, he is ready for the initiation

ceremony of Brahmo Samaj. The tone of the novel Gora is the tone

of reconciliation & harmony. The division of characters between

Brahmo Samaj & Hindu Samaj is ultimately reconciled in the novel.

Even Tagore’s most of the novels deal with the local

atmosphere of Bengal. Bengal had been the seat of Orthodox

Hinduism. In the nineteenth century, the wind of renaissance blew

over Bengal under the leadership of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Brahmo

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Samaj. The old culture &tradition of Bengal were being replaced by

the new culture & traditions which is free of orthodoxy &

superstitions. The culture had the influence of western countries.

Several types of problems which were part and parcel of the Bengali

society are discussed in the novel. Ex. In Gora Tagore has described

the miserable conditions of the unhappy widow of Bengal. The

character of Harimohini stands for the sufferings & miserable

condition of 20thCuntury Bengal. The novel Chaturanga deals with

human greed, the greed due to which the human is ready to do any

inhuman act. Greed for power & wealth is very powerful in the novel

Chaturanga. In Tagore’s every novel there is detail account of the

social issues of the time which were present in the Bengali society.

At the same time Tagore stands against the Swadeshi movement. He

criticizes Gandhian political ideology of Swadeshi.Tagore’s novel,

The Home and the World elaborates how Muslim traders are forced

to their stocks of British goods to the public to burn in a ritualistic

way. While Rao, in Kanthapura glorifies the Swadeshi Movement

by making villager to wear kurats and pyjamas, rejecting foreign

goods and opposing the use of English language etc.

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Tagore tries to deliver some message through his great works,

for example, Gitanjali impart the message of devotion & motivates

people to faith in good. Gora has not stopped at nationalism or

patriotism. The novel talks a lot beyond national & patriotic feelings

& leads to the characters towards internationalism. Same kind of

message is also given in the novel ‘The Home and The world’. The

Home and The World highlights the difference between the

treatment in the home & the outer world. Though outer world seems

more attractive & fascinating but it’s more an illusion. The novel

The Home &The World is about Swadeshi movement and love

triangle or extra-marital affair of Sandip & Bimla.

The nationalism of Rabindranath Tagore is the first class

nationalism. It is above the caste, religion, race, ancestry etc. Though

India is the country of different religion & races but Tagore’s

nationalism is not limited to any particular caste or religion. On the

character of Faru it can be concluded that Tagore’s nationalism is

beyond the personal feelings. For the sake of his people Faru fought

against the ruler. He didn’t care about the sufferings of his own

family members. The characters like Faru, Gora, Anandmoyi, and

Krishna Dayal are the symbols of nationalism. These characters

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never think only about their own family. They have a very broad

thing. It would not be wrong if somebody said that these characters

consider all countrymen as their own family member. The whole

country is their family. They worry about sufferings & pain of the

whole countrymen. The narrow mind set cannot be found in these

characters.

In the novel Gora itself is the symbol of Tagore’s nationalism.

His major character is from another country & therefore the

nationalism of Gora also becomes internationalism. He is the person

who used to believe in Hindu tradition & was the staunch follower of

Indian Hindu orthodoxy. Finally he comes to know that the

orthodoxy which he believed throughout his life had no concern with

him. It was just an illusion & the reality was different. At the

beginning, very strongly he had opposed to the principles of Brahmo

Samaj but when he realizes that he is not a Hindu that time he comes

to Paresh Babu and accepts that fact that right now he has no

opposition with the principles of any religion. All religion including

Hindu, Muslim, and Christians are his own & all people of their

religions are his men. Though he had no religion but every religion

of the country is his own religion. From Gora’s very birth

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Anandmoyi was aware about the reality of Gora’s birth. But she

never discriminated. Instead of discriminating she loved & cared him

since his very birth.

The country had given him everything though he had nothing.

Gora had no parents, no brothers, no sisters, no religion, no home…

nothing, but it was the nation that gave him kind hearted parents, a

friend like Binoy, a dignity, religion, and a shelter. The journey from

nothing to everything was only of few seconds. The child which is

born in cowshed & belongs to the group of the people, who treat

common people very cruelly, was raised by an orthodox Hindu

family. Though Tagore has tried to show Krishna Dayal’s family as

an orthodox but the family is somewhat liberal because it was a

Krishna Dayal who performed penance ceremony after the arrival of

Gora. The child of Irish-English ancestry was allowed to read all the

sacred texts of the religion. Even he was allowed to perform all the

sacred ceremonies which a real Brahmin performs. If the family

might have been orthodox they have been never allowed such things

to the child who is not of their religion. But Anandmoyi and Krishna

Dayal never talk about this issue. Not a single time they say that a

particular ceremony cannot be practiced/ performed by him. Though

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character of Gora had turned as an orthodox Hindu but his parents

Krishna Dayal & Anandmoyi are very practical & liberal. Even

Anandmoyi tried to arrange a Marriage of Gora with one of

daughters of his friend. It indicates that Gora was considered as one

of the family members of the Krishna Dayal’s family.

Both the novelists describe nationalism of India taking into

consideration of religion, race, caste & class. They both believe that

several religions in India may attempt to launch their own

nationalism. Tagore and Rao have deliberately delineated Hinduism,

Brahmanism, Christianity, Humanism, nationalism &

internationalism. While taking into consideration all these various

ideologies and thoughts they have successfully and very beautifully

delivered the message of humanism.

Tagore and Rao believe in religious nationalism. They think

that India is the country of several religions but the very base of

every religion is humanity and human development and not a single

religion supports to evil things. Every religion is the part and parcel

of human values. Not a single religion across the globe has

commuted on the destruction of human race. Every religion has some

sacred books which describes its ideologies and philosophy. Not a

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single philosophy of any religion talks against human goodness. But

there are some selfish people in every religion which tries to

discover the desired meaning even from sacred texts. Even the Holly

books and sacred text used to complete such people’s selfish goals.

Tagore and Rao deal with the various religions- Hindu,

Muslim, and Christian. Every religion tries to teach something moral

to human being. All the novels of Tagore entertain and give a moral

lesson. The nationalism which is depicted by Rabindranath Tagore in

his novels is not like the nationalism of western countries. There is a

sizable difference in the nationalism of western countries and India.

Tagore thinks that nationalism in most of the European seems

superficial though having one religion, while Indian nationalism

depicted by Tagore is deeply rooted in Indian, tradition, culture and

society. The nationalism of Tagore is inseparable part of the history

of nation. This deeply rooted world only nationalism is present in the

people of every religion. Believer of Hinduism, Tagore is reluctant

with international nationalism instead of accepting the Indian

cultural and spiritual nationalism due to a fear if religious invasion.

Unlike Tagore, Rao believes in the harmonious culmination of all

religions in the Indian nationalism.

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Both the novelists are social nationalists. They intend to

eradicate all the evils of society to bring them together by

establishing equality, peace, love and spirit. Rabindranath Tagore

and Rao attacked on caste system, untouchability and various

discriminations in the society. In Kanthapura by Rao and in Gora by

Tagore, they both harshly delineated the realistic picture of

discrimination. Gandhian movement of removal of untouchability is

being rendered through Gandhian character Moorthy. Tagore also

praises the Gandhian view of social equality. Some superstations &

miss-beliefs are also been targeted by the writer. The novel tries to

show that religion, caste, culture, ancestry & race these are

secondary in front of the nation, nationalism & national pride.

Raja Rao attempts to revive through his fiction the Indian

quest of self, tradition, spirituality and religiosity. As a voyager in

the realm of spirit, he discovers man`s inner world which is rooted

and constructed by the ancient traditional culture all over in the

world in general and Indians in particular. His novels are intense

expositions of the Indian consciousness which are completely

embedded in the Upanishadic tradition of India and rooted in the

Advaita of Sankaracharya. Through his writing he unfolds the human

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beings quest for truth and explores the possibilities of being and

becoming. He himself confirms that his “writing is my dharma”.

His ‘Kanthapura’,‘The Serpent and The Rope’ , ‘The cat and

Shakespeare’ and ‘Chess master and His Moves’ deal with human

beings self-experience and the quest of self in the universe. Being a

student of philosopher, he has much worldly philosophical

knowledge. During his early life in India, and at the west, he studied

Indian and Western philosophies and observed and experienced

different cultures. Even he tried to become ‘sanyansi’ and made

Atmananad his guru at Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.

He has followed spiritual discipline, zeal and self-surrenders to

attain the spiritualistic knowledge. Raja Rao attempts to project the

human life at the actual and the real physical and the metaphysical

level even in his writing. Raja Rao`s each novel is the product of his

deep spirituality. The characters delineated in the novels experiences

universal truth and travels to un limitedness.

Rao believes in the quest of self and to know the truth should

take place in one’s physical existence. He thinks realization of Truth

“I” becomes “Shiva” –Shivoham means truth. His spiritual sickness

and his thirst of philosophical knowledge begin with his very first

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novel, Kanthapura, demonstrating the Gandhian spiritual politics and

its impact on the freedom movement for India`s freedom from the

British rule. In the novel there is elaborate discussion of Gnadhi`s

ideal selfless action in Satyagraha, Truth, non-violence and

universal love. His next novel ‘The Serpent and the Rope’ depicts

man’s quest for self-realization. According to Rao its theme is “the

futility and barrenness of man in human existence when man has no

deep quest and no thirst for the ultimate Man's life here in Sansara is

an august mission to find the Absolute.” (Rao, 5)

His novel ‘The Cat and Shakespeare’ is a book of Prayer

glorifying the extreme dedication and complete dependence upon the

god. The cat in the novel is symbolic of the Guru as the ‘Mother’, the

Protector and the Initiator.

Raja Rao`svision of spirituality holds a very distinct and

special view of life and the nature of existence. The voice of Rao as

a novelist and spiritualist is the voice of ancient culture and sages.

He is the voice of thepuranas and scriptures. Each of his novels is the

product of his varied and deep spiritual dimensions of life.All his

writing elaborately discusses about the fundamental reality of life.

The novels of Raja Rao are the voice of an ancient, insightful culture

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that speaks to the modern world. Shifted from the European

tradition, he emphasized collecting materials from Indian literary

tradition. Rao's novels on the obvious level depict the human

condition than delineating any particular nation or ethnic group. The

fictional house of raja Rao is fabricated on the Metaphysical and

linguistic speculation of the Indians, hence his novels are highly

acclaimed in all the generations for ages. Kanthapuradeals with

Gandhi's Civil Disobedience Movement. Kanthapura is the depiction

of an entire village, participated in the civil Disobedience. The

Serpent and the Rope is semi autobiography of Raja Rao intends to

explore the spiritual reality in the Indian and European culture. And

The Cat and Shakespeare is a metaphysical novel, providing

answer to various philosophical facts illustrating an ideal blending of

the Indian culture with the western thoughts. Another notable novel

by Rao, The Chessmaster and his Movesis extremely philosophical

and metaphysical.

Most of the novels of Tagore also deal with spirituality as a

major theme. Tagore’s nationalism doesn’t relate with any particular

religion or caste but his spirituality is from Hinduism. The concepts

like Spirit, God, rebirth, unity with god are closely related with

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Hinduism. The spiritual aspects which Tagore has shown in his

novels show an impact of Hinduism. The concept of Vaishnavism is

deeply rooted in the sacred books of Hindu religion. The spiritual

aspects which we can see in other religions like Muslim, Christian,

etc cannot be seen in Tagore’s novels.

In the novel Gora, Tagore has elaborately unfolded the various

shades of spiritualism through Hinduism.

All the novels of Rabindranath Tagore also deal with

spirituality. It tries to focus that the life we are living is very short.

He believes that death is the reality of life. The life will be snatched

by god at any movement. How much we earned, is not important

after death. Whether the human being is rich, poor but death is

compulsory for each & everyone, though human being has made

discrimination on the basis of caste, religion class etc. But the central

force of the universe does not make any discrimination on the basis

of caste, religion etc. For him everybody is equal.

The Concept of religion depicted by Tagore in his writings

indicates an advanced stage in the evolution of the human worship of

the divine which has moved away from the external rituals or

magical rites “towards the moral & spiritual significance.”

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(‘Rabindracanavali,’ Vol.No.1, Kolkata, 1986, 218) Tagore was of

the view that all the religions of the world have the origin to some

persons who represented a great truth in their lives. All the religion

aimed human welfare. Tagore does not concede that he had

developed any firm philosophy or sense of religion. In one of his

letters he admits that he hadn’t developed any sense of religion in

common parlance of term. In his ‘Atmaparichya’ he says:

‘I have called that power which unities and gives

meaning to my life’s joy & sufferings & binds my

transformations & transcendence into a unity, through

which I realize the Universal unity, my ‘Jeevandevata’.

(Tagore 62)

Tagore and Rao were influenced by Upnishidic ideas of

religion. For Tagore it is not possible to treat religion as something

abstracted from life; its aim is never to enjoy leisurely peace & sense

of beauty. Religion is the union of soul to the Super-Soul (Tagore,

Par, 17)

Observing the literary work of Rabindranath Tagore it can be

concluded that his approach to religion is distinctly different. The

concept of Tagore’s religion is deeply rooted in his humanism. In his

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Hibbert Lectures, delivered at oxford in 1930 (published as The

Religion Of Man), he states that his main subject is the idea of

‘humanity of our God, or the divinity of man, the Eternal.’ He says,

“This thought of God is not grown in my mind through any process

of philosophical reasoning. On the contrary, it has followed by the

current of my temperament from early days until it suddenly flashed

into my consciousness with a direct vision. (Tagore. “My Rem.’ 73-

79 )

As far as narration is concern, both the novelists seem experts

and the same time distinct from each other. They are the masters of

creative and innovating writing. Tagore`s Gora was written in

Bengali and was translated Thomson, yet it gives us an idea of his

mastery over poetic prose. The whole novel is narrated in poetic

prose. The novel gives us the beautiful description of nature, cities &

rural area of Bengal. One such description of nature is in chapter 30

of Gora.

“There was ineffable depth in the darkness of the night.

The cloudless sky was filled with stars; the trees lining

the bank were massed together like a solid black plinth

supporting the sky overhead. Below flowed the swift

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silent current of the broad river. And in the midst of it

all ray the sleeping Lolita.”( Tagore; Gora, Chapter 30,

34)

From Kanthapura to The Cat and Shakespeare, Raja Rao

also shows a steady progression in terms of art of narration as he

constantly changed, grew and became different. His writing marks a

constant evolution of his art and technique. “ What is also beyond

dispute is the range of life as well as the levels of consciousness he

has brought into the novel…(Narsimhaiah, 1)

In Kanthapura the narrator is an old grandmother, and her

stream of memory forms the narration of the novel. She narrates in a

gossipy and chatty manner. Most of the time, she is garrulous and

presents events with numerous digressions and episodes; however,

she is a simple, unlettered grandmother. Her narrative style is the

novel’s crowning charm as also the greatest threat to its success. She

conforms with the traditional Indian style of oral story-telling,

poetry and reality, men and gods, fact and fiction; the reality of the

Gandhian freedom movement is channeled legendary or Puranic

dimensions. The chronological narration makes the action move

steadily forward and there is no incoherency or confusion despite the

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too frequent digressions and episodes. There are occasional touches

of irony and native humour.

Similarly, Kanthapura shares certain narrative techniques with

the Puranas. The story is told rapidly, all in one breath, it would

seem, and the style reflects the oral heritage also evident in the

Puranas. Like the Puranas, which are digressive and episodic,

Kanthapura contains digressions such as Pariah Siddiah’s exposition

on serpent lore. The Puranas contain detailed, poetic descriptions of

nature; similarly, Kanthapura has several descriptive passages that

are so evocative and unified as to be prose poems in themselves.

Examples are the coming of Kartik (autumn), daybreak over the

Ghats, and the advent of the rains. Finally, the narration of

Kanthapura has a simplicity and lack of self-consciousness

reminiscent of the Puranas and quite different from the narrative

sophistication of contemporary Western novelists such as Virginia

Woolf or James Joyce.

Raja Rao presents much more complex narrative technique in

The Serpent and the Rope. Its hero-narrator, Rama, is a highly

intellectual character at home both in Eastern and Western

philosophy and metaphysics whose mind is a whirlpool of cultural

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currents and cross-currents. The novel is contrast to the simplicity of

the narrator in Kanthapura. SrinivasIyengar writes:

“Rao zig-zags disconcertingly in space and time, he

mixes memory and reverie, he jostles recitation and

speculation, he scatters with a seeming recklessness

aphorisms, witticisms, cyncisms, scholarly jottings and

gems of recapitulated song. Yet, in spite of all this riot

of apparent irrelevance and irrepressible loquacity,

everything-given, that is, the character, with the

elements so tantalizingly mixed in him-seems to fit

perfectly” ( Rao, 48 ).

The action of the novel has a physical as well as a

psychological aspect, and the psychological or inner action is much

more important. The physical action has global broom and moves to

and fro between the East and the West.

Since the hero-narrator has assimilated myths and legends of

different civilisations, he uses them with perfect ease to glorify,

criticise or illumine the present. They myths of Shiva, Parvathi and

Nandi, Radha, Krishna and Durvasa or the legends of Satyakama and

Ramadevi, the princess of Avanti, of JagnnathaBhatta and

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Shahjehan’s daughter or of retelling of Rama’s story every Saturday

as well as the Chinese fable of Wang-Chu and Chang-Yi, or the

classical myths of Demeter, Poseidon, and Ulysses, or the tale of

Tristan and Iseult, all enrich the texture of the novel and illuminate

its metaphysical theme.

MYTHICAL TECHNIQUE:

As far as mythical treatment in the novels is concern, Rao is

prominent and master than Tagore. Raja Rao has produced many

Novels dealing with the theory of myths. Raja Rao is a novelist of

philosophical consciousness, which is the outcome of his aspiration

for spirituality. His writing invariably manifests his quest for Truth.

His intense concern with Indian philosophy remains useful for his

creative writing. Unlike Tagore, Raja Rao an innovative novelist

departing boldly from the European tradition and culture. He

explores the metaphysical basis of writings. Being an innovative he

has done new experiments in the presentation of philosophy in novel.

He has brought to the Indian sensibility through Indianness of style,

an epic breadth of vision, a metaphysical rigor and philosophical

depth, a symbolic richness, while Tagore also used Bengali words

and tunes, characters and locations by depicting the realistic

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portraiture of India. But we may find Raja Rao is more realistic than

Tagore as far nationalistic delineation is concern. As Meenakshi

Mukherjee observes:

“Indian people are still closer to their mythology than the

modern Irish or British people are to Celtic folk-lore or Greek

legends,” and its true to Raja Rao, who delineated Indian Philosophy

various myths, tales and references from the grand religious epics.

Being a Vedantic, he seeks truth on the lines of „Advaitavada� (The

philosophy of monism) and frequently refers to the percepts from the

Upanishads. The Advaita philosophy of Shankaracharya forms the

core of Raja Rao`s fictional work. Rao`s first novel Kanthapura

expands the nationalistic movement through the myth of Gandhi.

The novel centers around young Moorthy, who with his fire and

idealism wages a battle against the conservative forces. He

introduces and conveys the impact of Gandhi's ideals on this sleepy

village and makes it aware of the turbulence of the movement. So

Kanthapura can be called the Grammer of the Gandhian myth. In

‘Kanthapura’, the Indian struggle for freedom is compared with the

great war of Mahabharta, and Kanthapura becomes a veritable

Kurukshetra. The war between the forces of good and evil, truth and

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untruth and love and hatred is being rendered using the myth of

Gandhi. Rao intentionally uses spiritualistic nationalism through a

Gandhian epic. K.A. Aggarwal rightly says that Raja Rao “was a

child of Gadhianage, remarkable novelist among Big three”. All the

novels of this great novelist deal with quest theme and represent

different stages of quest- from I to universal.

By incorporating the myths from Puranas of Vishnu and Shiva, tales

and others, the novelist in true Puranic manner exposes and sings the

glories of the Gandhian philosophy through Moorthy, Rangamma

andRatna in the novel ‘Kanthapura’. The Serpent and the

Ropeexplains the dynamics of mythical devices. After meeting Guru

Atmananda, he wrote ‘The Serpent and the Rope’ and ‘The cat and

Shakespeare’ and ‘Kanthapura’. Raja Rao`s trilogy woven with his

deep knowledge of the Indian myths, Indian philosophy. The myth of

Radha and Krishna, Gautam Buddha and Yagnavalkya and

Maitreyienriches his novels and highlights Indians the collective

consciousness of the Indians.

These local sthala-puranas are modeled on the ancient Indian

Puranas—those compendia of story, fable, myth, religion,

philosophy, and politics—among which are the Upa Puranas, which

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describe holy places and the legends associated with them. Hence,

several features of Kanthapura are in keeping with the tradition of

sthala-puranas. The detailed description of the village at the opening

of the novel is written in the manner of a sthala-purana, wherein the

divine origin or association of a place is established.

Kanthapura is also imbued with a religious spirit akin to that of the

Puranas. The epigraph of the novel, taken from the sacred Hindu

scripture the Bhagavad Gita (c. fifth century b.c.e.), is the famous

explanation of the Hindu notion of incarnation: “Whensoever there is

misery and ignorance, I come.” The doctrine of incarnation is also

central to the Puranas, most of which are descriptive accounts of the

avatars of Vishnu. The avatar in Kanthapura is Gandhi, whose

shadow looms over the whole book, although he is himself not a

character. Incarnation, however, is not restricted to one Great Soul,

Gandhi, but extends into Kanthapura itself, where Moorthy, who

leads the revolt, is the local manifestation of Gandhi and, by

implication, of Truth.

Tagore has explored the conceptof reality enveloped in myth.

Tagore has used various myths from legends, Ramayana and

Mahabharata, Shiv Puran etc. while delineating myths, Tagore

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intends to give some message. In The Home and The World, Bimla

is being treated as a goddess, Kali, Sita to lead her toward patriarchal

qualities.

Characterization:

Raja Rao seems pioneer in creating living characters, which

are not mere typifies but creatures of flesh and blood, compounds of

weaknesses and virtues. Unlike Tagore, he did not over-crowdthe

characters in his novels. Though he depicted mass movements but

intentionally he lead individual characters or impacts of mass

activities to be highly influential to divert the attention of readers.

The hero of the novel is Kanthapura or its people and attention has

been focused on their heroism and their suffering. Rao characters

are lively, vivid and real. In The Serpent and The Rope characters

are much more complex, and more varied. Its hero-narrator,

Ramaswamy, a literary figure, knows many languages and many

philosophies, mythologies and literatures. Through his mouth , Rao

exposes the life-giving Vedanticphilosophy. There is also a greater

variety of characters in ‘The Serpent and Rope’ than in

‘Kanthapura’. Characters aredrawn from different sects, races and

nationalities realistically.

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Female characters in Rao’s work have to start with Achakka.

She represents the fundamental force of both social and cultural

change within Kanthapura, and India, in general. She ends up

buying into Moorthy's, and by extension, Gandhi's, call for self- rule.

Achakka is representative of how Indians at the time were torn

between accepting reality as it was or rein visioning it as it can or as

it should be. She is also representative of how women, despite being

mired in traditional ways, can embrace change and be an active agent

of reconstructing reality. Another example of this would be

Rangamma, who takes it upon herself to lead others and take an

active role in fighting the Status Quo in the name of change.

Rangamma suffers greatly, like Achakka, for her beliefs, being

beaten and imprisoned for them. It is interesting to note that Rao

was radical in making the argument that if India was to embrace the

concept of change, it could only do so if all of its citizens, men and

women, were joined in this quest. Rao also presents that some

women were more concerned with keeping the Status Quo, so long

as it could benefit their own status, as seen with Kamalamma, who

is more concerned with seeking socially acceptable alliances and

maintaining the caste system. The women shown in Rao's work help

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to bring forth the idea that independence for India would only be

accomplished in its purest sense if all forms of stratification, both

externally provided by the British and internally initiated by Indians

themselves, were reexamined and the role of women in the novel

help to illuminate this.

The numerous characters in this novel demonstrate the sense

of community that unifies the plot and gives substance to the

political and social conflicts. There is a sense of teeming life, and

because the larger question is not about an individual’s fate but about

a group destiny, Raja Rao’s mode of characterization is

impressionistic. Dialogue is kept to a minimum, and the focus

encompasses both the masses in the background and certain salient

figures in the foreground.

The female narrator is a medium for storytelling as well as a

character in her own right, for she expresses her own radical nature

and that of changing India. Though she tells the reader little directly

of herself (she admits to owning seven acres of wet land and twelve

of dry, it is clear from her mode of speaking that she is willing to

accept fundamental social changes. Although she is respectful of

Hindu tradition, she is not bound to old ways. She is caught up in all

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the turmoil, and her at times breathless narration expresses the

excitement of the period as well as her own recognition of a

movement that is leading to India’s autonomy.

While, Tagore has depicted he nationalist characters in his

novels with wider sympathy. These characters are shown as the

symbols of the rising nationalism of the early nineteenth century in

India. The aspirations of middle class, educated Bengali people are

also brought into light by Tagore. The basic reasons behind the

freedom movement were the injustice & arrogance of the British

rulers. These people seem aware about the slavery, & try to seek &

protect their cultural heritage from all sorts of onslaughts.

“Besides, by depicting the tropical situation of a white man

cultivating the unbounded love for Hindu religion & nation, the

author Rabindranath Tagore appears to suggest that religion &

patriotism are not ingrained in the blood of a man from birth but are

contracted by him for his surroundings & environments.”

(Humanism in the novels of Tagore : 1986, Page. No. 70 )

The characters which are present by Tagore in Gora, The Home &

the World & Chaturanga has a deep faith in love. The character of

Binoy, Gora Sucharita, Lolita, Anandnmoyi, Krishna Dayal, Nikhil,

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Binda, sandip has a deep trust on love. The characters of Sandip,

Nikhil, Binoy, Gora&Sucharita believe / think that there is a hidden

desire for the expression of love.

Even while portraying the characters, Tagore has used poetic

imagination with a very skillful manner while writing about

character of Sucharita he says; “Sucharita had risen on the horizon of

Binoy’s life like the evening star, radiant with the pure sweetness of

womanhood & he had realized how his nature had expanded into

completeness into joy”(Gora)

Use of English language:

Both novelists are learned in and outside India. One is known

as educationalist and the other professor of philosophy. They have

command on the use of English language. Both the novelist travelled

within and outside the India and hence much experienced about the

people, culture and tradition. Rabindranath Tagore is incomparable

as far as his use of languages- Bengali and English in verses and

novels.

There are several Indian words in the novel Gora, Four

Chapters &The Home and the World. The title of the novel ‘Gora’

itself is Indian though the novel is a translated version of Bengali

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novel. The name Gora is doubtful, ambiguous. The Indian meaning

of Gora is white. The color white indicates purity & right. But

ironically the name is given to one who is an orthodox Hindu. The

name Gora itself suggests that the person is out of the weaknesses.

He is a perfect man of having all the features of a good leader. Even

he has the capacity to lead the people.

It seems that Rabindranath Tagore has a great command over

English language & diction. He has very beautifully used his skill for

expressing spiritual vision, national idea & internationalism. In Gora

he has used some polemics & argumentation in very simple, lucid &

convincing English. The language which is used by Tagore in his

novels is simple which is generally is used by middle class people of

Bengal. The colloquialism is avoided by him while describing the

scenes of rural areas. The standard Bengali language is not used by

Tagore in his novels. This quality of language is the feature of

Rabindranath Tagore’s novels. He uses appropriate images at right

place. Various symbols of social & political life are been used by

Tagore.

Yet some critics think that the English which is used by

Tagore in his writing is not grammatically correct. Thus, Thomson,

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who translated his Gora into English talks about Tagore’s English

style, “Contained sentences marked by little, subtle errors.” Some of

the critics also say that Tagore commits the mistakes of article &

preposition. But it is also accepted by eminent critics that Tagore

writes English of extreme beauty & flexibility. Either his original

work or translated novels are till today the most predominant figure

in the literary history of Bengal.

Raja Raohas used a suitable medium for the expression of

essentially Indian sensibility. Like Tagore, he uses words, proverbs,

idioms and phrases from regional languages- Hindi, Kannada and

Sanskrit to suggest the Indian sensibility. Like Tagore he was also

ardent nationalist, and he too seems a maker of nation in the true

sense. He used words like kumkumorarathi and many more for the

sake of clarity and also for the sake of patriotism. Raja Rao being a

professor in philosophy at USA, he is a master of English, but

intentionally English syntax and structure are modified and broken to

suit his purposes.

Although the form of Kanthapura is closely modeled on that of

the sthala-purana, its style is uniquely experimental. Rao’s effort is

to capture the flavor and nuance of South Indian rural dialogue in

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English. He succeeds in this through a variety of stylistic devices.

The story is told by Achakka, an old Brahman widow, a garrulous,

gossipy storyteller. The sentences are long, frequently running into

paragraphs. Such long sentences consist of several short sentences

joined by conjunctions (usually “and”) and commas; the effect is of

breathless, rapid talking. The sentence structure is manipulated for

syntactic and rhythmic effect, as in the first sentence of the novel:

“Our village—I don’t think you have ever heard about it—

Kanthapura is its name, and it is in the province of Kara.” Repetition

is another favorite device used to enhance the colloquial flavor of the

narrative. In addition to these techniques, translation from Kannada

is repeatedly used. Nicknames such as “Waterfall Venkamma,”

“Nose-scratching Nanjamma,” “Cornerhouse Moorthy” are

translated; more important, Kannada idioms and expressions are

rendered into English: “You are a traitor to your salt-givers”; “The

Don’t-touch-the-Government Campaign”; “Nobody will believe such

a crow and sparrow story”; and so on. The total effect is the

transmutation into English of the total ethos of another culture.

Kanthapura, with its “Kannadized” English, anticipates the lofty

“Sanskritized” style of The Serpent and the Rope, which,

stylistically, is Rao’s highest achievement.

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The Serpent and the Rope extremely diverse in form as well.

Rao quotes from an array of languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi,

French, Italian, Latin, and Provençal; only the Sanskrit quotations

are translated. There are long interludes and stories, such as

Grandmother Lakshamma’s story of a princess who became a

pumpkin and IshwaraBhatta’s “Story of Rama.” In addition, the

novel contains songs, myths, legends, and philosophical discussions

in the manner of the Puranas. The main narrative, the gradual

disintegration of Rama’s marriage with his French wife, Madeleine,

is thus only a single strand holding a voluminous and diverse book

together.

Raja Rao’s use of imagery is equally distinctive and creative.

His use of images is functional and not merely decorative. His

similes and metaphors are drawn from the common, everyday

objects and phenomena, hence they serve to clarify and elucidate

The imagery here touches upon objects and experiences that are

distinctively Indian, and faithfully conveys Indian sensibility. Raja

Rao has an uncanny knack of aiming at natural dialogues. He

changes their tone and style to suit his characters and situations.

They are formal, intellectual and witty in Rama’s philosophical

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discussions with Georges, Lezo, Madeleine ndSavithri, while chatty

and colloquial in his conversation with his family relations in his

home town in India.

To conclude, both the novelists are remarkable as far as their

philosophical and spiritualistic views are concern. While considering

Indian nationalism, they both have considered and compared Indian

nationalism with West and shown how Indian nationalism is

different than others. Being spiritualistic, they seem keen learners of

various religions, ancient culture and religious epics- Ramayana,

Mahabharata and Vaidic philosophy, and believes in the quest of self

should be the motto of all human beings.

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References :

1. ‘Gitanjali’ : Rabindranath Tagore.

2. Bhattacharya, Bhaban. “Tagore as a Novelist” in

Rabindranath Tagore. 1861*1961 : A century volume ( New

Delhi : Sahitya Academi, 1961 )

3. Chaturanga: Rabindranath Tagore.

4. Czeslaw Milosz, To Raja Rao www.kirjasto.sci.fi/rao.htm

5. E. Kedourie. Nationalism, London: Hutchinson, 1960.

6. E.H. Carr. “What is History” published in England 1985.

7. Four Chapters: Rabindranath Tagore.

8. Gora: Rabindranath Tagore. Trans. By Thomson.

9. M.K. Naik, Critical essays on Indian writing in English

,Dharwar, 1968.

10. NarasinghSrivastva, The Mind and Art of Raja Rao, (Barielly

1980)

11. Pier Paolo Picivcco, The Fiction of Raja Rao : Critical studies,

Atlantic publishers and distributors, New Delhi, 2001.

12. Rabindra Canavali. Vol.1, Kolkata, 1986.

13. Rabindranath Tagore “My Reminiscence, Rupa, Calcutta.

1922.

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14. Raizada, Harish, “Humanism in the Novels of Rabindranath

Tagore”. Ed. T.R. Sharma Ghaziabad, Vimal Prakashan 1986.

15. Raja Rao, ‘Books which have influenced me’

16. Raja Rao, www.kirasto.sci.fi/rao.htm

17. Shiva Niranjan, “An Interview with Raja Rao”

18. Shiva Niranjan, Raja Rao Novelist as Sadhaka, Vimal

Prakashan, Delhi, 1985.

19. T.S. Eliot, „John Marston�, Selected Essays, London, 1971.

20. The Home & the World: Rabindranath Tagore.