Emerging Literary Issues of Society as Delineated in Selected Gujarati Short Stories of Jayant Khatri
Abstract:
Literature has been begetting from society. It has the strength to develop social milieu, from the filthy mind and manifests the hidden issues and it’s respite. Values are proteins by which society is sustaining. This current analysis assumes to assert upon society and varied inner voices. In this study, I have encoded some essential issues of the society which are more or less aftermath of human riots. The riots draw a clear line towards unbalance prevailing in the society, using some anti-cultural values like the extremity of violence, decay of humanity, abuse of women, class discrimination, and furthermore. Dr. Khatri pointed out such overwhelming issues in his short stories for human welfare. In our modern age, though we gain a wealth of materialism, we have lost generosity that is a very essential value of society. Jayant Khatri tries to reclaim our human values by which both the present society and future generation will develop well.
Key Words: Short story, Emerging issues, values, society, humanity, modernity, Domestic situation.
1. Introduction:
During the social revival and national movements there arose a flower that never withers. Jayant Khatri, a foremost storyteller and introduces a general predicament presented in the society. Each story emanates from its unique scenario of content, skillful techniques to present stories with the design of symbolic nature in an experimental way. Jayant Khatri, an eminent progressive story writer of the early modern Gujarati short story, was born in Mudra on 29 September 1909. Khatri's writings reached a new dimension of figurative expressionism. Khatri is fascinated to depict stories with a touch of human philosophy. He has followed communist ideology. Throughout his lifespan, he actively participated in public groups to help the proletariat and downtrodden. His kind nature towards his patients and laborers made him a legend of the Kutch region. He has imbibed the Kutch region in his vain.
In Khatri's literary canon we find traits of traditionalism, modernism, and postmodernism. He has published three renowned story collections: Foran (1944), Vaheta Zarna (1952), and Khara Bapor (1968). His art is widely varied, from the heart of humankind to the desolate land of the Kutch region. Nature is being highly transformed into characters in stories. The stories expose contemporary cultural issues, alienation, partition effect, suffering, etc. There is no reconciliation between man and woman in his stories. And the chief noted characteristic is female power is always a challenging character for a man. Khatri tosses the reader at the climax of the stories. Best known stories are Lohinu Tipu (A Mark of Blood), Dhad (The Outlaw), Tej Gati Dhvani ( Light, Speed, Sound), Ame Buddhimano (We Intellectual), Dead End, Khichdi (Kedgeree), Khara Bapore ( At Scorching Afternoon), and many more.
He was writing in the transition period of the Gandhian age and modern age. Khatri has included modernist trends of world literature in Gujarati writing which was later followed by others around the 1960s. He has witnessed some major heartbreaking events of that era. Khatri's stories take us to fly in Swaraj, the partition and aftermath of such historical events. He has depicted darkness lies within the society, gloomy and misery of modern men, highly accomplishing nature especially with the dry sphere of the Kutch region. His stories raise heterogeneous issues and make his characters involved in that predicament. Khatri's portrayals of characters are the symbolic representation of the inner life of society. Elements of his short stories have some significant points. There is great integrity in his stories and their demonstrative symbols.
2. Emerging Issues in Selected Short Stories:
I have selected enduring stories of anti-social ideologies. Which prevailed from the very beginning with the act of Satan (biblical character) and still exists in our society. The stories included in this paper are rich in the vivid portrayal of the social issues that unfold the reality of the so-called civilization of society. Following the Marxist ideology, Khatri's stories became the arena of new path-breaking writing in the form of short stories. His stories give us a detailed preview of human hardship such as the pinnacle of sufferings of the oppressed, the downtrodden, and the exploited are well illustrated in stories. While reading different stories from Khatri, it can be passionate to use stories as an escape from own problems for a while. Probably, Khatri was the first realistic writer to weigh in with the stories of the man's hunger for sexual appetite, passions, alienation, and despair, writing compassionately about various strata of the sufferings of people especially living in the kutch region.
Life can be as beautiful and meaningful. But some problems ruin its charm thoroughly. Every aspect of life is a piece of the continent and if the one destroying it affected the whole. To date, sexual violence is a major issue that impacts millions of people and their life every year. The story focus on the most vulnerable subject of sexual violence. The author revealed the scene of the greatest level of the panoramic view of nature and hidden desires and the way Halima became victims of sexual harassment and assault.
2.1 A Mark of Blood (The Blood Inheritance)
The story was first published in 1944 as part of a collection entitled Droplets (Foran). The Gujarati title ‘Lohinu Tipu’ translated into ‘A Mark of Blood’ which has a specific direct reference to the main character of the story. Dr. Khatri employs this short story to reflect upon indirect issues raised by the father in his son. A son becomes the mirror of his father and poor Halima couldn't protect her honor. This story won the prestigious award Mahida Gold Medal in 1945 for apathetic and satirical story based on a tragic sense of life through the delineation of the most spellbinding element of nature and description about family members of Bechar and patronage Halima. This thriller memorandum is about the anti-hero Bechar (a thief and a culprit) and innocent Halima. Halima became a victim through the eyes of Bechar and even more she was sexually assaulted by Bechar's son Kanaiya. This nail-biter episode of the story took place on the full moon night of the Ashadh month.
The flashback narrative story begins with a recounting of terrible incidents in the life of Bechar, a multifaceted personality as an ironman, a thief, a criminal, and a protector. At full moon night, he left all his passions which were suppressed for five years. The whole arena of the story revolves around Halima, a young girl. The atmosphere drew a more significant role to outburst sexual instincts towards her. i.e. When Bechar saw the shadow of a woman with head down, moving slowly against the fading light, he couldn't help thinking that she was shapely. The thought vanished as soon as it struck him (Patel & Randeria 27). That delicacy- that youth, that five years of hidden erotic expression, and the precious moment of the Ashadhi night have actively participated. Though Halima survived from the lustful instincts of Bechar, she couldn't save herself from Kanaiya. She became a victim of sexual assaults by him and lost herself and her pride. Bechar was slumped down. Eyes that had never shed tears were filled with them today (Patel & Randeria 37). Throughout his life, he saw bothersome special care for Kanaiya so he asked his wife to protect their son from bad vision and acts. Alas! The mother couldn't control the fate of Kanaiya which was already inherited in his vain.
2.2 Kedgeree
As we all know, a female bears an unequal burden of household responsibilities and is also exploited in unsafe jobs. fundamentally, men are the bread earner and women are caretakers of the family. But there are no such rules for those who live in poverty. Here in our story Kedgeree, focuses on the hardship of a young girl's feeding and caring for family members. in Kedgeree, Jayant Khatri produced a remarkably vicarious moving account and the sensible tale of a young girl Lakshmi who belongs to the very lower strata of society. She desires to live happily and comfortably but she can't. It is anthologized in Khatri's ‘Vehta Zarna’ which is the most famous story. The story is widely considered one of the finest fragments which are the outcome of the Second World War. Here, we can see a fight with complexity. Though the central issue of the story is revealed around the exploitation of society and the dark horror of world war, it grabs our attention towards the central character - Lakshmi, and her struggle to come out from her poignant situation for earning everyday meals. She is the only harbinger of the family. The responsibilities of earning regular meals were emphatically given as the cruelest gift by a weak father and scrimshanker brother. They are responsible for the daily meal instead of Lakhdi. Satirically, it was true when her dissolute brother told her ‘if there is Lakhdi then there is kedgeree too’. The most heartbreaking condition occurred when the story reached its climax. Always care for family and first thinking about family vanishes from her mind, she forgets about others and becomes self-centric and even more graceless towards her duty. Respectively, as a result, Lakhdi was abused and exploited by none other than her own family members and Shankar Seth. Her father denotes her: It is just a game to earn kedgeree for a girl like you. Understand? Do you understand? And her brother (says): Oh wow! What is this? Does hen put a golden egg today? (Vijaliwala 168,172). In doing so, she was sexually exploited by Shankar Seth. Assuredly, when she found herself in the bed of Seth, she became kedgeree and a bed turned into a vessel. Though she lost her innocence, the turning point of that night made her mature evenly.
It is the aftermath of national movement and riots, pathos, agony, and horror spread all over the strata of society. The story took a remarkable end with fear of riots and put a question in the mouth of Lakhdi’s father: Police sub-inspector Sir, when will this fight end? From the perspective of Natubhai, the situation has been emerging as a result of this fight. Despite having a poor family she wants to lead an exciting and enjoyable life. A bliss and interest in life still exist in Lakhdi's subconscious mind and heart. She is living her desire behind her duties.
Poverty and crime in society have been a topic of major consideration that gives rise to various social issues. Hunger for food and basic needs or desire for materialistic happiness turns men into anything. Sometimes it cultivated wise men into a thief. UNODC Chief, Yury Fedotov commented, "Corruption is the thief of economic and social development; stealing the opportunities of ordinary people to progress and to prosper". Robbery is very much a contemporary issue. This story has been written about the lives in the desert and subjected to the heist with full of dramatic irony that describes the head of cruelty and ruthlessness in 'man'.
2.3 The Outlaw: A reward of karma
Dr. Khatri has a mastery of depicting nature in the most elaborative way which lies in a highly symbolic way. Khatri’s pragmatic approaches towards life always arise through his stories and in real life also. He is a man of sensualism. Who examines all the major and minor elements around his arena and hidden instincts of modern civilization. He portrayed characters from very common strata of society but doesn't show class discrimination instead of sawing general prevailing. He significantly delineates the social milieu, their lifestyle, agony, and pathos.
This classic story is a fictionalized narrative about the gripping adventure like robbery, crime, and conspiracy; Which resulted in a deadly end. The story revolves around an anti-hero who fits himself according to his occupation and the climate where he lived. The story is a deadpan narrative told entirely through eye witness recordings of Pranjivan.
As in other stories of Khatri, the locality of a persona, their behavior, and setting can play a major role in the story. Depiction of the main character Ghela according to his occupation seemed so relevant. Accidently one day narrator Pranjivan and Ghela met and they shared lunch together. His appearance shocked him as he looked tall, heavyweight, and had a scary look with a white beard. He used to walk silently according to his occupation. Ghela firmly believed that if one wants to win against life must be audacious and cheeky and be greater than your companion. Perhaps his view of life happened because of that climate around him in which only brawny people and animals won against atonic. And he also said that kindness, affection, and religion - all are bookish things, only get pleasure in books not in real life so being cheeky is the only way to get victory over things. He felt proud by saying that if he would fight with obstacles then only he won. He invited Pranjivan to his village but when he went there he did not give him respect at all. Insisted him to join him when he went for major theft. While Pranjivan hesitated to go with him he told him that there was no place in his dried soil if he became unmasculine. But in his own words he satire upon himself as he had a very pretty cool looking, caring wife; he never sincerely talked with her. He always scolds her and shares no lovable and happy married life with her and perhaps that's the only reason he had no lineage and remained far from the feeling of fatherhood. His wife didn't like his act of theft but she was poor in the hands of the cruelest fortune at the dried land of their resident.
Ghelo felt the meaninglessness of life at one climax. When he bullied Daji Sheth and told him that hurriedly opened his treasure neither in a moment something bad happened there. But suddenly he broke down as palsy attacked him. Pranjivan tried to escape with Ghela in that hectic situation, somehow he became more powerful than earlier and success came to Ghela’s home but Ghelo in a paralyzed situation unable to utter a single sound. And after three days from the burglary incident, Ghelo closed his eyes forever and ever.
2.4 Hero: The Bull
The story is an introduction to the relationship between human and animal. The story examines a comprehensive view of the harsh reality of humankind and the innocence of the animal world. Through the lively characterization of Hari, the narrator, unnamed villagers, and animals like the bull and donkey. The central theme of the story revolves around animal husbandry and sawing existing virulence upon animals. Greengrocer, Narrates the story of the life of a bull and especially presents chronicles of the events surrounding how the bull became a hero in the village. Later on, day by day he exploited, vanished, and was killed by a group of people.
The story is a mouthpiece of a greengrocer. The story is based upon the relationship between human and beast. How a man can change when there needs to be fulfilled and how ‘human beings’ command over animals. This story is a satire on a man too - being human do we act as a modest human. The journey of the narrator and Hari again takes a short break at some unnamed village, at some countable distance from the village they met a vegetable vendor who told them the unique saga of a bullock and donkey. The tale began with a first-person perspective in a flashback manner in the mouth of the vegetable vendor. The story revealed inhumanity from humans. How both animals shared positive gestures towards each other. But in the eyes of people proved like a marker of downfall.
Vendor himself brought bullock to the tehsil by the bat with Sindhi people. Made him a great runner like for none other compared to him in his strength. But fortune changed and he went towards the wrong path. Once he broke down the foot of the vendor's daughter so he left him alone to starve and lived anywhere as he wanted. When Hero came to market all frightened by him though Hero never injured anybody but at their fruit and vegetables. Once he ate mangoes of Makaana, he lost his patience and became furious and had a nail in his eye. After losing his one eye people named him Hero and then people called him Hero is “Emperor of Market”.
During that time he made friends with a donkey. Both spend time together and help each other like the friendship of humans but people refer to them as a mark of downfall. In a state of frustration, both beaten by villagers and with the passing of time donkey lost his life and became a victim of leopard when failed to find his friend he became more insane and mashed so many things in the village and at last one cruellest day was shot by a policeman.
Conclusion:
Literary artifacts of Jayant Khatri provide those essential values that more or less help society to enrich its impression towards a great development of culture. His distinctive stories grow insight into issues that endlessly remain in the shadows because they are extremely difficult to confront head-on. By providing an issue for the society I hope that it may cultivate minds. It tries to improve in the new direction for the future generation.
References: