KEYWORDS:
Nationalism,Imagination,Borders,Riots,Freedom,Violence,History
INTRODUCTION:
AmitavGhosh,atalented,innovative,experimentalistnovelistofcontemporary IndiawritinginEnglishholdsadistinctiveplaceamongstthePostcolonialwriters.Immenselyinfluencedbythepoliticalandsocialmilieuofthecountryand thestoriesoffreedomstruggleandpartitionheheardinchildhood,heisanindefatigableresearchertryingtogotherootsofthetruth.Theshadowlinesanovel questioningreceivedhistoryandmanyothernotionsofso-calledtruthsdepicts thesamezealofthenovelisttounearththereality
TheIndianEnglishnovelfromitsconceptiontoitsmostflourishingtimesduring the freedom struggle attempted to show the nationalist upsurge that stirred the wholecountryonanunprecedentedscale.Thegreatmassawakeningunderthe leadership of Gandhiji and all-pervading national consciousness facilitated the assumptionofadistinctivenationalidentityaftertheindependence.Atthesame time the great disruptive force of the continuing growth of Muslim separatism wasemergingculminatinginthecreationofPakistanin1947.Thespectacleof hundredsofwomen,men,strongyoungboysandgirlsaswellaschildrentaking partinpoliticalmassmovements,picketingofliquorshops,marchingindemonstrations,courtingjails,facinglathichargesandbulletsaremirroredinthenovels ofMulkRajAnand,R.K.Narayan,RajaRao,BhabaniBhattacharaya,Manohar Malgonkar,KhushwantSinghandNayantaraSehgal.Alldescribingtheaspirationsofmillionstogetafreenation.
AsSameshwarSatiopines“withcomingofindependencesuchahomogenising narrativeshapedbytheimpulsesofnationalismandcolonialismbeginstofizzle out and by the time we reach Salman Rushdie's Midnight Children 1981, the 1 nationalideabeginstoberestructuredandsubverted”
Now as Neerchandloke says “and the narrative of the nation that was lovingly andcarefullybuildthroughinthestruggleagainstcolonialism,andthatconstitutedmuchoftheimmediatepostcolonialgeneration-mygenerationappearsto 2 beonthemarginsofobsolescence”
th
ThegrowthofnationalisminIndiaintheearly20 centurywasahistoricneedto getridoftheforeignyoke.AsEricHobsbawmsays“Idonotregardthenationas primary nor an unchanging social entity It belongs exclusively to a particular 3 andhistoricallyrecentperiod.” Theevileffectsofnationalismbecameapparent to the world during the world wars. Rabindranath Tagore had started warning Indiaandothernationswherethedangersofnationalismwerebecomingvisible rightinitsbeginning.AmitavGhoshinheritstheinternationalismanduniversalismofTagoreandbelievesinthesamenotions.
The Shadow Lines isacontemporarytextinspiredbythememoriesofGhosh's experiencesofthekillingsinNewDelhiin1984afterIndiraGandhi'sassassination. It interrogates and militates against the recent glorification of the idea of nationhood and easy assumptions of national divide.As Survir Kaul says “the novelis,forthemostpart,anextremelyself-consciousmeditationonthethemes ofnationality,internationality,culturalandhistoricalself-determination,asalso on the enormously conflicted transition from the temporary certitudes of the nationalistfreedomstruggletothedisillusionsanddiscontentsthathavemarked 4 Indiaasanindependentstate”
ToAlka Kumar “The text continuously subverts notions of truth – notions that are rooted in cultural, sociological and historical realities while it exposes the 5 arbitrarinessofmanykindsoflines,bordersbothpersonalandpolitical” TheNarrator'sgrandmotherisaferventnationalist,identifiesherselfcompletely
withthecauseofnation.Inheryoungdays,shewassurroundedbyatmosphere whentheenthusiasmtogetone'sfreedomfilledtheyouthwiththededicationto sacrificeanything,goingeventotheextentofgettingkilledorkillingtheenemy. Herdedicationtonationdefineshereveryactionnevergivingheranyscopeto allowanykindofself-indulgence.Shebelievedafterindependencethepolitical divisionandbordershavemadethemsafewithintheirowncountry Hermindis filledwiththeEuropeannotionsofnationbuildingsowhenIladecidestolivein London,sheobjects“shedoesn'tbelongthere.Ittookthosepeoplealongtimeto build that country; hundreds of years, years and years of year and bloodshed. Everyonewholivestherehasearnedhisrighttobetherewithblood.Theyknow they'reanationbecausethey'vedrawntheirborderswithbold.Hasn'tMayatold youhowregimentalflagshangintheircathedralandhowalltheirchurchesare linedwithmemorialstomenwhodiedinwars,allaroundtheworld?Waristheir religion.That'swhatittakestomakeacountry Oncethathappenspeopleforget theywerebornthisorthat,MuslimorHindu,BengaliorPunjabi:theybecomea 6 familybornofthesamepoolofblood”.
Grandmother'snotionofnationalismisgroundedonthebeliefthattherealbordersseparatesosheistakenabackwhenshefacesthereality“Butiftherearen't anytrenchesoranything,howarepeopletoknow?Imean,whereisthedifferencethen?Andifthere'snodifferencebothsideswillbethesame;itwillbejust likeitusedtobebefore,whenweusedtocatchatraininDhakaandgetoffinCalcutta the next day without anybody stopping us. What was it all for then-partition and all the killing and everything if there isn't something in 7between?”
TheDhakavisitexplodesvariousmythsofGrandmotheraboutnationalism.Her concerntoprotectherUncleandbringhimtothesafetyoftheirownnationforgettingallherlifetimefeudswithherUncle'sfamilyandsheexecutesherplanto savetheoldmandyingaloneinacountrynothisown.“Itdoesn'tmatterwhether werecogniseeachotherornot.We'rethesameflesh,thesameblood,thesame bone,andnowatlast,afteralltheseyears,perhapswe'llbeabletomakeamends 8 for all that bitterness and hatred.” The old man, however, refuses and says “I don'tbelieveinthisIndia-Shindia.It'sallverywell,you'regoingawaynow,but supposewhenyougettheretheydecidetodrawanotherlinesomewhere?What willyoudothen?Wherewillyoumoveto?Noonewillhaveyouanywhere.As 9 forme,Iwasbornhere,andI'lldiehere”
Though her false notion of nationalism brings her the greatest disaster imaginable – The killings of her uncle and nephew – she fails to understand that the destructionwascausedbyherillusions.Theaccidentmakesherallthemorebaffled.Shealmostloseshermentalbalanceanddonateshergoldchain,amemento ofherdeadhusbandandalmostapartofherbody–forthewarfund.“Igaveit away,shescreamed.Igaveittothefundforthewar Ihadto,don'tyousee?For yoursake;foryourfreedom.Wehavetokillthembeforetheykillus;wehaveto 10 wipethemout.Shebegantopoundontheradiowithbothhands”
Tridib aptly describes grandmother, “All she wanted was a middle-class life in which,likethemiddleclassestheworldover,shewouldthrivebelievinginthe unityofnationhoodandterritory,ofself-respectandnationpower:thatwasall shewanted–amodernmiddleclasslife,asmallthingsthathistoryhasdeniedher 11 initsfullnessandforwhichshecouldneverforgiveit.”
Asfortheyoungergeneration,whohaveinheritedafreenation,suchdevotionto thenationisunimaginable.Ila,Robiandthenarratorwanttoleadtheirlivesinan individualisticmannerandaresurroundedbytheirownnotionsoftruth.Iffree-
domforthenationwasgrandmother'schiefconcern,Ilawantstobefreeofthe constrictedIndianmilieu.Robi'srefusaltoallowIlatodancewithastrangerinfuriatesher,angrilyshescreamstothenarratorthatshewantedtobe“freeofyour 12 bloodyculture” Ironically,sheisrejectedandbrutallybeateninthelandofher dreams.Grandmother'saversiontoIlaisduetoheracceptanceofwesternlifestyleandthefearofhergrandson'sgettingtrappedinherinfluence,shecallsher 'aslut'.SoentrappedIlaisinhermisguidednotionsoftruththatshepretendsto thenarratorofhavingmanyrelationsinordertoimpressandshockhim.Wearing thegarbofasuperficialcosmopolitanIla'sassumptionofgettingmalegazeby pretentious permissiveness is contrary to Indian ethos where girls chastity has beenreveredforagesandhonourkillingsarestillsofrequent.ToquoteVirginia Wolf 'Chastity had then, it has even now a religious importance for women's 13life” Theironyisthat,assheadmits,whereassheherselfremainsaschasteas anyothergirl,shehastotolerateNick'sadulterouslifestyle.So,Ila'sattemptto breakfreefromherroots,inherefforttofreeherself,bringsheramoredestructive bondage. Robi, who wanted to get free from the past memories of his brother'sbrutalmurder,feelsthewholeconceptoffreedomisamirage.Intoleranceinthenameoffreedom,causedkillingsinvariouspartsofthecountryand hewonders“AndthenIthinktomyselfwhydon'ttheydrawthousandsoflittle lines through the whole sub-continent and give every little place a new name? 14 Whatwoulditchange?”
The novel stresses the role of memory, juxtaposes it with received history and exposes the fictive nature of history and also how the historical records try to erasewhatisrecordedintheprivatememoriesofthepeople.Thematurenarrator who had grown up believing in the 'reality of nations and borders' during his researchproject,ishorrifiedtofindalinkofhisuncleTridib'skillinginDhaka withaCalcuttariotofhischildhooddays.
Thenbeginsthenarrator'sdesperatesearchtorecoverapastsovividlyimprinted inhismemoryandthefactsleavehimstunnedandbaffled.Hewondersatthesensible people “They had drawn their borders, believing in that pattern, in the enchantmentoflines,hopingperhapsthattheyhadetchedtheirbordersuponthe map,thetwobitsoflandwouldsailawayfromeachotherliketheshiftingtec15 tonicplatesofprehistoricGondwanaland.”
StrangeenoughthatneverbeforeinhistorytheplacesknownasDhakaandCalcuttawerenearertoeachotherthanafterdrawingthelines.Otherstartlingfact wasthateventhoughthenumberofpeoplekilledintheriotswasnotlessthanthe numberofpeoplekilledinthewarof1962,thementionofriotshasnoplacein thepublicmemory “BytheendofJanuary,1964theriotshadfadedawayfrom thepagesofnewspapers,disappearedfromthecollectiveimaginationof'responsibleopinion',vanished,withoutleavingatraceinthehistoriesandbookshelves. 16 Theyhaddroppedoutofmemoryintothecraterofavolcanoofsilence.” Andhe realizes“Thetheatreofwar,wheregeneralsmeet,isthestageonwhichthestate 17 disportthemselves:theyhavenouseforthememoriesofriots.”
Thenarratoraftergoingthroughalotofdocumentaryrecordsisabletofindthe deliberateeffortsofsomeself-interestedgroupstogiveatingeofcommunalriots totheinitiallypeacefuldemonstrationsbythemembersofallreligions–Hindu, SikhsandMuslims–afterthelossofrelicinHazaratBalShrineinKashmir–the similarreasongivingspurtoriotsinDhakaandCalcutta.Inspiteoftheviolence during the riots depicting a 'pathological inversion', some sensible people also displayed“thatindivisiblesanitythatbindspeopletoeachotherindependently 18 of their governments” As Meenakshi Mukherji observes “the chronicles of nationsareinterrogatedinthisnovelbyhighlightingontheonehandthereality ofthefictionpeoplecreatearoundtheirlives,andontheotherhandbyrecoding verifiable graphic details of individual memories that do not necessarily tally 19 withthereceivedversionofhistory”
CONCLUSION: DespitebeingawareoftheUtopiannatureofTridib'sdesiretobecomeaglobal citizen-amanwithoutcountry–asthedeathofthatvisionaryhints,succumbing to the brute forces of reality, the novel hints at the legacy of such people – the imaginativevision.
Tridib'sinsistenceonusingtheimaginationwithprecisionandhisearlywarning thatwewouldnotbefreeofotherpeople'sinventionsuntil'weinventourownstories' properly helps the maturing narrator to investigate the reality and truth of otherstoriesandinventhisown.
REFERENCES:
I. Sati,Someshwar InterrogatingtheNation,GrowingGlobalin'TheShadowLines'in Amitav Ghosh's The Shadow Lines Ed. Arvind Chowdhary New Delhi: Atlantic 2008.49-58.
II. Chandok, Neera. Searching for a Narrative inTimes of Globalisation in ‘Narrating India’The Novel In Search of India. Ed. EVRamakrishanan. New Delhi: Sahaitya Akademi2005.21-50.
III. Hobsbawm,Eric.NationsandNationalismSince1780.[Online]Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 1990. [Cited: March 15, 2015.] http://www.nationalismproject.org/what/hobsbawm.htm.
IV Kaul,Suvir SeparationAnxiety:GrowingUpInter/NationalinAmitavGhosh’sThe ShadowLines.OxfordLiteraryReview16(1994):125-45.
V Kumar, Alka. Nation as Identity in The Shadow Lines in Amitav Ghosh’s The
ShadowLinesEd.ArvindChowdhary NewDelhi:Atlantic2008.59-69.
VI. Ghosh, Amitav The Shadow Lines. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1995 [1988]:72.Subsequentreferencestothetextfollowthisedition.
VII. Ghosh,Amitav TheShadowLines:143
VIII. Ghosh,Amitav TheShadowLines:112 IX. Ghosh,Amitav TheShadowLines:202 X. Ghosh,Amitav TheShadowLines:223 XI. Ghosh,Amitav TheShadowLines:73 XII. Ghosh,Amitav TheShadowLines:89
XIII. Woolf,Virginia.Aroomofone’sown,byVirginiaWoolf.eBooks@Adelaide.[Online] The University of Adelaide. [Cited: March 15, 2015.] http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/woolf/virginia/w91r/chapter3.html.
XIV Ghosh,Amitav TheShadowLines:232 XV Ghosh,Amitav TheShadowLines:219 XVI. Ghosh,Amitav TheShadowLines:217 XVII. Ghosh,Amitav TheShadowLines:217 XVIII.Ghosh,Amitav TheShadowLines:217 XIX. Mukherjee,Meenakshi.MapsandMirrors:CoordinatesofmeaninginTheShadow Lines(DelhiOUP:1995)P.255