International Indexed & Refereed Research Journal, ISSN 0974-2832, (Print), E-ISSN- 2320-5474, July, 2013 VOL-V * ISSUE

-54

Research Paper -English

Linguistic Experimentations in Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable

* Dr. Deepa Rani
* B R P English B R C Nilokheri (Karnal) A B S T R A C T This is an attempt to highlight the linguistic experimentation in the novel and to comment on the objective of the experiments. For a literary artist, it is inevitable to use the particular language used by people to whom the work of literature is related. Accordingly, when it comes to Indian writing in English, the linguistic variation tends to be clearly discernible. This is quite expected from them as the experimentation allows them to express their theme authentically and effectively. Anand's Untouchable displays the major traits of experimentation with English language. However, this experimentation causes difficulties for the readers and expects them to be culturally and linguistically amphibious to enjoy the writing of this type. When no one might have thought of writing a novel for the cause of the untouchables, Anand has been successful in depicting the miseries of the outcastes and in creating a vast platform to present their miseries, and in this task language has played a very significant role. Keywords: Transliteration, Swear-words, Experimentation. There is no doubt that Anand through his works Mulk Raj Anand was arguably the greatest exponent of Indian writing in English, whose literary output was stands before us as a champion of the downtrodden by infused with a political commitment that conveyed the articulating his sympathy for the most oppressed and lives of India's poor in a realistic and sympathetic the most exploited class of Indian society. However, manner. He had been involved in India's freedom move- this paper does not attempt to meditate the themes of ment, been impressed by Marx's letters on India and his untouchable. On the contrary this is an attempt to general political framework and had been a co-founder highlight the linguistic experimentation in the novel of India's greatest literary movement in the 1930s. K. and to comment on the objective of the experiments. It Srinivasa Iyengar has tacitly suggested that Mulk Raj is universally accepted that literature is the mirror of the Anand has a stature in the context of Indian social and society and the time to which it is related. It bears the literary history that reminds one of that of Charles stamp of the period and community in which it is generated. And hence to communicate the customs, conDickens in that of Victorian England.1 He had wanted to write about the ordinary, the ventions and the life style of the people of the specific mundane, everyday life experiences of Indians who community belonging to a certain time. For the literary were not kings and gods. For Anand literature should artist, it is inevitable to use the particular language used be an interpretation of the truth of people's lives. It by people to whom the work of literature is related. should be written from felt experience and not books. Therefore it is but natural to realize difference in the With the publication of Untouchable, Anand had firmly works of J.M Synge and George Eliot on the linguistic associated himself with that brand of writers who saw ground. Accordingly, when it comes to Indian writing 'political, social and human causes as genuine impulses in English, the linguistic variation tends to be clearly discernible. We find nearly all the Indian novelists in for the novel and poetry.'2 Though this is his best known and most widely English indulged in experimentation with English. This read novel, it was no easy job getting it published in the is quite expected from them as the experimentation 1930s. Some 19 publishers had rejected this story for allows them to express their theme authentically and 'its dirt'. In despair Anand was on the brink of giving effectively. The Indian novelists, like R.K. Narayana, up when the twentieth publisher accepted the novel on Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao have experimented with the basis that E. M. Forster had agreed to write the language in their novels. According to Ayengar, Mulk preface. Anand praised Forster for his support as it was Raj Anand is the most prolific stalwart of Indian writing not only unusual for an Indian writer to have his central and a naturally inevitable choice while defining the character be a latrine cleaner; many European writers traits of the experimentation with English language. Even though Anand spent good deal of time in the would not touch a subject like this either. July, 2013

SHODH, SAMIKSHA AUR MULYANKAN

International Indexed & Refereed Research Journal, ISSN 0974-2832, (Print), E-ISSN- 2320-5474, July, 2013 VOL-V * ISSUE -54

English speaking West he is one of those authors who have been the products of an Indian 'home' growth. Anand's Untouchable displays the major traits of experimentation with English language. Firstly the novel is abundant with a tendency of the clich of stale poeticism. Secondly, it bears the most notable experimental aspect of Anand's language i.e the literal translation of Hindi or Punjabi idioms into English. Many Hindi words, phrases and expressions are interpolated in the midst of narrative and dialogue written in the British tongue. Finally there are a few instances of coinages, falsifications of English spellings and idioms in the renderings of speech and manners of his Indian fictional characters. Similarly English expressions are Indianized and there are instances of Anglicization of Indian expressions by certain fictional characters. Thakur Guru Parsad comments that this is bold experimentation effected by the brave Punjabi writer.3 The novel consists of the highest incidence of transliteration which means, according to Meenakshi Mukherjee, interpolation of Hindi words in an English sentence indiscriminately. Actually, transliteration is not restricted to words, phrases and even sentences of Hindi are interpolated with English spellings of their equivalents. Ofcourse, plain Hindi nouns are scattered all over the text which is written in English language. For instance - words like topee(3), izzat (4), huzzor(8), dhoti(11), rasgulas(36). kismet(99), mukadamas(130), maya(142), karma(145) and many more. The shocking experiment in relation to such transliteration is that Anand applies rules of English grammatical structure to them e.g. topees (3), ludus(38), kalijugs(40). Here, Anand foists English infixion to Hindi words. Sometimes, he uses these Hindi words as if they were common English words and sometime puts them into italics. Some of these transliterated nouns have been accepted in English vocabulary and included in common English dictionary like the Longman Dictionary of contemporary English e.g. Sadhu(62), Sahib(91), Salaam(29) etc. According to Meenakshi Mukherjee such usage offers English language a new domicile. Furthermore, while transliterating some nouns he puts their English equivalents into brackets e.g sadhus(ascetics) (62), dawai khana (dispensary)(71), sarkar (sir) (73), vardi(uniform) (92) etc. This shows that he started using these words carelessly. And in addition to this, he provides different English equivalents for the noun sarkar- sir (73) and government (129). This may also lead to confusion of the native English reader. However, an Indian reader can understand the difference very clearly. One can notice another unique quality in the use of this large group of words. Sometimes the

transliteration influenced by the Punjabi habit of pronunciation affecting the English readering (e.g the Hindi chillum becomes chilm (87) is also used. Anand has also transliterated adjectives e.g kala(10)(11), dharmic(129). swadeshi(131) etc. Some of the adjectives are provided with the English equivalents into brackets e.g. dharmic (religious) (129). Sometimes the Hindi adjectives accompany the nouns imported. There is a small group of Hindi verbs which has undergone experimentation in the hands of Anand. Some of there are don't buk buk(28), Salaam babuji(29) and Mehrbani(98). These are the instances of hybrid linguistic varieties. An unilingual reader requires explanation to understand them. Don't buk buk is made of the English auxiliary verb followed by Hindi verb in imperative mood. Salaam is a Hindi verb but a native user of English with little knowledge of Hindi may find it troublesome because 'salaam' is both a noun and a verb. For the third i.e Mehrbani Anand has given an English equivalent 'thank you' but the way it is put in the text will make the native user of Hindi to take it as a noun and not as English sentences 'thank you.' The above analysis, according to Thakur Guru Parsad, should clearly suggested that the purpose behind such experimentation is purely and simply to tease the reader into consciousness - one may dare say, a manifestation of exhibitionism, rather than anything more systematic of serious. The novel also has two whole Hindi sentences in italics and with English translations in brackets. They are 1) kala admi zamin per hagne wala (black man who relieves himself on the ground) (10), 2) baba pese de (oh man, give me some paisa) (125). With the first example some educated people push the novel into the ditch of vulgarity. But there is nothing vulgar when there is the question of reality. This sentences stands as an evidence of the way the English hated the Indians. Literal translation of Hindi words, phrases and sometimes even sentences into English makes the second largest group of stylistic tricks used by Anand in Untouchable. It can be easily observed that he has translated groups of Hindi words and phrases into English on the analogical pattern of English morphology e.g kikir tree (96) and pipal tree (110) on the analogy of banyan tree. Some free lance translations like Hindu's well (15) are the instances of Anand's originality. Then, there are some Hindi phrases e.g the outcastes coony (1) and solar topees which are literally translated into English. Untouchable has a rich store of swear-words or abusive oaths of India which are literally translated

International Indexed & Refereed Research Journal, ISSN 0974-2832, (Print), E-ISSN- 2320-5474, July, 2013 VOL-V * ISSUE -54

into English. This is Anand's most colourful experimentation. Like transliterations and other literal translations, the swear words are found in conversation. They consist of words or bigger units e.g. bitch, prostitute, wanton slut (17), son of bitch, the offspring of a pig (38). Anand uses the swear words abundantly and tries to remain faithful to the setting. Anand is a Punjabi and the swear words used by him are nothing but a cultural uniqueness peculiar of the language of the Punjabi peasant. However, sometimes Anand achieves special literary effects. For this sake, he exploits the ambiguity in the Indian context of the equivalent of English swear word, brother-in-law. It is done marvelously in conversation between Bakha and his friend Ram Charan. However, this experimentation causes difficulties for the readers and expects them to be culturally and linguistically amphibious to enjoy the writing of this type. Furthermore, he utilizes the swear words in literal translation to produce a pure lively comedy in the passage on page 16 & 17 wherein Gulabo, a washerwoman quarrels with Sohini. Gulabo is an illiterate low caste village woman of easy virtue. She is jealous of Sohini for she is growing into a beautiful woman. This passage is nothing but the galaxy of swear words literally translated into English. The abuses like 'eater of dung' and 'drinker of urine' are typical expressions suitable to be uttered by a woman like

Gulabo. Similarly the reader is expected to have equally sufficient knowledge of North Indian and BritishAmerican cultures otherwise he/she will miss the beauty of these experiments of literal translation. Lastly there are English words with changed spellings in Untouchable. Through the use of words like fashion as fashun (27), natives as natus (11). Lieutenant governor as laften gorner (40), general as jernal (34) gentleman as genterman (28), Anand tries to put focus on the real tendency of the uneducated Indian masses. It appears funny but one cannot ignore the reality also. He has used these mis-articulated English words in the speech rendering of the uneducated untouchable like Bakha as well as high caste man like Lala. Such usage has acquired marvelously realistic Indian colouring for the novel. To conclude, language used by Anand in untouchable shows his sincere affinity with the Indian soil. The novel of 1930, when no one might have thought of writing a novel for the cause of the untouchables, Anand has been successful in depicting the miseries of the outcastes and in creating a vast platform to present their miseries, and in this task language has played a very significant role. Anand has used language in accordance to the milieu of its story. It appears that he has put sincere efforts is bringing them in the form of novel with linguistic experimentations which seems inevitable.

R E F E R E N C E
1. 2. 3. 4. K.R. Srinivasa Iyenagar, 'Indian writing in English.' Bombay: Asia Publishing House 1962& 1973, 339-347 Cowasjee S, 'Author to Critic: The Letter of Mulk Raj Anand.' Writers workshop Publications, Calcutta 1973, 1. Thakur Guru Parsad, 'Experimentation with Language in Indo-Anglian fiction. A Note Towards Definition of Traits in the Work of Mulk Raj Anand', 38. Anand, Mulk Raj. 'Untouchable.' Mehta Publishing House, Pune June 2003.

SHODH, SAMIKSHA AUR MULYANKAN