Gatashraddha: A critical review

It’s been long since I’ve come across a literature which brings out the ethnicity of a community to the fullest. U R Ananthamurthy (Udupi Rajagopala Acharya Ananthamurthy), the late writer, activist of Kannada literature has done total justice by penning down the intricacies of Indian caste, culture and traditions through a very simple story. When I initially read the story I felt it had nothing new to offer, all the elements brought out in the story like caste, gender, societal pressure were all already seen, read, heard and rusted. But a deeper discussion in the small group helped to unravel many issues which I haven’t touched upon.

With a structured plot, simple language and suspense elements the story does create a cozy environment to read. We have been taught to find morals in stories from our very childhood, and there are quite a few morals in the story as well, but I wish to consider it as something more than that. It was a story which had all the elements to arouse my senses, both inner and outer. Thus I like to categorize it as a piece which is worth reading and pondering upon.

Gatashraddha is the story of two characters; one is the narrator of the story, a young Brahmin Vedic student named ‘Nani’ and the other Yamuna who is the daughter of his master Uduppa. The word ‘Gatashraddha’ means last ritual in Kannada. Being a widow in a conservative Brahmin community Yamuna was bounded by caste and societal chains. She came from her in-laws’ to look after her father and his home. When Uduppa goes off to perform the final rituals of Yamuna’s husband a series of events happen which becomes the plot of the story. Yamuna who is pregnant with another man’s child stays isolated inside the house with the boys who came to Uduppa to learn the rituals and mantras. When she finds out she can no longer keep it a secret she was forced to abort the child. But the whole community gets to know about Yamuna and she gets cornered. Finally all the boys were taken to their homes including nani, the Brahmin community excommunicates her, Uduppa does her last rituals while she is still alive and remarries.

Through the story, the author has tried to bring out some of the worst practices of our society. If you look at the story from a reader’s perspective it is an innocent piece of art, a story which tells about a weak and depended woman under suppression but if you study the author’s previous work or his background before reading it you get the real essence of his writing. Patriarchy, caste conflicts, socio-political issues were all explicitly questioned throughout the plot. URA who has always challenged the brahminical practices and traditions brought out the prevalence of ideologies over human values.

It is interesting that the author chose a child to narrate the story rather than an adult who would have aggravated the story’s basic theme with more prejudices and biases. But this helps us understand that a child as we see as an innocent and non-biased creature is not really so. A child is not living isolated of what is happening in and around him/her. He is also a part of the society; he could think and be influenced by the society as well. Nani, the narrator of the story is going through events which gave him enough opportunity to leave Yamuna and go back to his home, but he chooses to stay back and help her out. This shows the two very complex sides of a child’s mind. One is the innocence with which he accompanied her to do abortion and the other is choosing to stay behind even though that is the most difficult of decisions to make. This shows that the moral side of the child is still strong even in a crisis. This makes children good literary devices.

The setting of the story might be 1950s or 60s, after independence when the country is still in the aftershocks of the British rule and the partition. South India which is comparatively less affected by the Independence struggle and the following dramatic events might be in a much safer zone but the height of communal displays was very much prominent. Brahmins and Dalit were two entirely different species of people. The boy Kari who helps Nani later in the story is a Dalit who tries hard to stay away from Nani and is even afraid that he might touch him and degrade Nani’s community by doing so. A strong sense of power is being explored in the story. But it is surprising to notice that even a ‘higher caste’ woman is not free of oppression. Let it be a Brahmin or a Shudra, 1950s or 2010s woman are always the weaker section who needs support and cannot take independent decisions. It was ironic that Yamuna wasn’t allowed to be with another man after her husband’s death but Uduppa her father was allowed to marry another woman to take care of his home even at that age. I could make out an immediate connection between this power equation and the Sati system, were women are forced to jump into the burning pyre of their husbands inorder to be one soul and spirit after death. It might be also to curb her desires and avoid situations like the one in the story.

The story will definitely make us question the authoritarian intent. Is the author a real anti-Brahmin or is he strongly advocating societal equality and justice? Anyway, the take away would definitely be stirred emotions, and thoughts and questions over our own traditions and beliefs.