Reviw of Ghatasharddha

‘Ghatasharddha’ story about a widow of typical Brahminical society written by U R Ananthamurthy, a famous kannda language contemporary writer and critics also considered one of the forerunners of the Navaya movement. Basically author has taken a dig at the rituals and customs of the brahamnical society and especially the orthodox behaviour towards the women in the society. This story is about a widow who is daughter of priest running a Vadic school and a child called ‘Nani’ who has studied their narrated this story. Nani narrate his experience of priest house with Yamunakka (The widow, daughter of priest) and his two other fellow staying with him in the same vadic school. Nani started with his day to day rituals activities they were performing at the school and the close interaction with the Yamunakka. Yamunakka was pregnant and unaware about what was happening around her. Everyone in her neighbourhood were aware about her relationship with a school teacher and her pregnancy including two of the Nani’s fellow students Shastri and Ganesha. Nani was younger than them and not at the stage to understand the situation of Yamunakka ‘a pregnant widow’. He kept struggling to understand why neighbours are asking different type of question about Yamunakka, why people stop coming to Yamunakka house? Why Ganesha’s father brought him back? Why Yamunakka stop him to go out and restrict him to answer any question to outsider? Why Shastri also started staying at others house? Why was yamunakka gone to the forest alone to meet teacher? Why Yamunakka wanted to kill herself? Why Yamunakka’s father performed her last rite when she was alive?

This story is basically present the existing religious beliefs, Brahamanical culture, superstitions and condition of woman in the society at that time. A small brahmanical vadic school student from an aristocratic Brahmin family who was learning traditionally about brahamnical culture, customs and going through the hard daily routine with his two other student who were elder than him. He has been taught that he cannot touch lower cast people, cannot play like other children. He narrated his experience very innocently, others reaction about the Yamunakka’s pregnancy and is being excommunicated from the society. She has gone to lower cast people’s house to have abortion and Nani has also gone there searching her and stayed in that house than he also has been taken back home by his father.

Author has chosen a child as a narrator of the story in spite of fact that this is more or less adult story. May be author would have wanted to describe every activity and showing reaction of the society without any interpretation. If any adult would have narrated this then possibility of narrator’s interpretation would have increased. A child was not able to understand the orthodox situation of a pregnant widow, so story progressed having suspense since child could not assume the society’s reaction and result.

Brahamincal society where women have to shave her head and were not allowed to live their normal life after death of her husband. In the same society a widow had relationship and got pregnant, were not supposed to touch Shudra but as story progressed writer has shown how story character Yamunakka and Narrator Nani get involved with all the activity which were prohibited by the society. For instance, Yamunakka’s Pregnancy, Nani go to search Yamunakka with a shudra hold his hand scarcely when Yamunakka has gone to commit suicide in the forest. And then Yamunakka has been excommunicated from the society and even her father performed her last rite while she was alive and get married again. Here, Author has gave a clue of an orthodox situation of the society that how society treat woman, at the beginning he has mentioned that Yamunakka’s father has called her back to his house to take care of the house after death of her husband since her mother had also not alive and when she has been excommunicated from the society than her father got married because one woman need to take care of the house.

However, being a not believer/follower of superstition I personally do not like the story very well. But I could relate this with my own family experience where I have experienced/been taught to not follow superstition. After my grandfather death my father had refused to follow any traditional last rites processes proposed by Brahamnical society and had quarrel for this issue.

Though, I don’t believe in any superstition but also I found some sorts of biasness from the author perspective. At one side author is highlighting the orthodox/superstition situation of Bramahanical society/Hindu whereas at the other side he introduced a situation where a Christen priest was asking the Yamunakka to accept his religion saying that “your people (religio) will not accept you so come with us, show faith in our creator we will save you. Come to the church”. From my understanding, this seen somewhat shown the compression of two society (religion) without providing proper evidence from both the perspective. May be, author has pointed out because of the his background itself, being a Brahaman he has married with the Christen woman and that time he had faced some disagreement from the society.

However, this story has shown the actual condition of the Brahamanical society at that time even somewhat now also.