A Study in the Dialectic of being and Becoming R. K. Narayanan’s

“The Vendor of Sweets”

 

Rajeev Murthi

Research Scholar, Barkatullah University, Bhopal

 

ABSTRACT:

R. K. Narayanan is one of those rare writers whom those people know who are not interested in literature and novels. He chooses the most renowned and most celebrated Indian writer R. K. Narayanan of English language.  His most famous work is Malgudi Days, which is a fictional town in South India.  It’s a collection of short stories. R. K. Narayanan’s characters were though fictional but their social setup and surrounding was presented so much sensitivity that readers feel connected to the characters and feel like all the social evils and incidents are happening around them or these incidents are occurring with their dear ones. R. K. Narayanan’s characters represents day-to-day life of common people and highlights the social context and problems faced in daily life. Raman Kumar’s research is based on novel “The Vendor of Sweets.” This novel explores the generation gap between second and third generation and between modernism and traditionalism. The subject of generation gap is explored through the main characters, Jagan and Mali. Mali is a spoilt motherless son whereas Jagan is a character shown as a father who advocates traditions and customs of his town, Malgudi.  Malgudi represents a traditional Indian society with morals and spiritual bounds. The conflict and struggle starts between the two when Mali refuses to follow the social restraints.  He wants to explore his own wishes, desires and yearnings, which are mostly antisocial and immoral in nature.

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

In the words of Raman Kumar himself “What makes The Vendor of Sweets so distinct is its characterization. The characters of both Jagan and Mali are so unique and peculiar that they leave an indelible impression on the minds of the readers. Though these characters are very lifelike and ordinary as they seem to be found at every nook and corner of the Indian society, but they have something very unique and peculiar about them. Now what is so extraordinary about them? The answer is that this uniqueness and peculiarity lies in the dialectic of their being and their becoming. It is the dialectic of being and becoming which gives them their peculiar nature and temperament and makes them so memorable.”

 

 

According to Raman Kumar and his research, the characters of the novel are presented in such a way that they leave an unerasable impression on the minds of the readers.  He finds these characters simple yet very unique in nature.  For this uniqueness he uses a word and phrase dialectic of being and becoming. He further explains the word dialectic and its origin and relates it to the western philosophy, especially Greek.  He says that dialectic roots are also engraved in eastern philosophy, Indian spiritual concepts.

 

Raman Kumar digs further into the philosophy of dialectic, which means everything is made of certain opposite things and conflict of such opposite things results in the change of that particular entity. He also dissects the term being and becoming in the spiritual context as in the Indian philosophy. As per Raman Kumar’s words, “According to the Indian spiritualistic philosophy, being is the innermost part of one’s self, one’s true self. It is the Atma with which all living beings are born into this born. This being is purely selfless and is devoid of all worldliness. William Wordsworth’s glorification of the earliest childhood in his famous “Immortality Ode” is nothing else, but affirmation of his faith in that pure being with which all humans are born.”

 

Basically “being” is the natural self of a person and becoming is an attempt to adjust oneself in the provided setup and involvement of materialistic or carnal pleasure of life. So the character of each and every human being is determined by that particular point extremes of being and becoming. Eventually, he sees through the novel characters, Jagan and Mali wearing the glasses of dialectics of being and becoming. Jagan’s character is shown as a good person who follows the rules and the restraints of the society. He is the protagonist of the novel who sells sweets. He is presented as an ideal character of the society who reads holy books, follows society norms and earns his bread and butter working as a vendor selling sweets. Raman Kumar compares Jagan’s character as an ideal Gandhian theory of non-violence.

 

Raman Kumar’s research mainly focuses on the natures of the human beings like Jagan’s character comparing with the Gandhian theory.  Jagan’s character is studied as traditional and conservative Indian who follows the customs and traditions of his town and does not accept the modern way of youth’s living.  He gets hurt and depressed when he finds that his son is living with a woman without marrying her.  He takes this bold step to hear and lives in tension and pain.  Raman Kumar assess his being and becoming or transforming himself after realizing that he did mistakes in his life giving Mali too much freedom and over pampering.

 

 

CONCLUSION: 

Raman Kumar’s research digs deeper into the nature, character, and behavior of the human.  It is a well researched document on human psychology especially a conservative Indian, a conservative father, carrying a traditional thought and Indian values and customs.  He explores the traditional Indian mindset who does not accept the social change easily and gets disturbed seeing a major change happening in life.  Initial unacceptance transforms into acceptance with strength of mind and change of nature. Raman Kumar’s research is a well noted document with a bouquet of adjectives, adverbs and simple but impressive wordings.  One would like to finish reading once start reading his research.

 

REFERENCE:

1.       Shepherd, Ron. “The Sublime and the Ridiculous: Allegory and Irony in R.K. Narayan’s Fiction.”R. K. Narayan: A Critical Spectrum. Ed. Bhagwat S. Goyal. Meerut: Shalabh Book House, 1983. 77-87. Print.

2.       Kumar, Raman, " R. K. Narayan’s The Vendor of Sweets: A Study in the Dialectic of Being and Becoming." IJELLH (International Journal of English Language, Literature in Humanities) [Online], 2.8 (2014):  14`. Web. 23 August. 2018Available at: <http://ijellh.com/OJS/index.php/OJS/article/view/253>.

 

 

 

 

 

Received on 04.07.2019        Modified on 10.09.2019

Accepted on 16.10.2019      ©AandV Publications All right reserved