Literature to Combat Cultural Chauvinism:
A Response

Shivani Jha


The Reader as Critic

K. Satchidanandan in his essay, “The Role of the Reader,“ asks, “Where does the reader stand vis-à-vis the text in Indian poetics?“ (222) He presents the idea that Sanskrit poetics, which also happens to be the theoretical basis for a large part of native criticism, sees the reader as a “competent and sensitive admirer of artistic beauty.“ For him the reader is as imaginative as the writer, and the only difference between the two entities is that the imagination of the writer is active whereas that of the reader is receptive. However, during interpretation and appreciation of the text the reader turns into a writer himself.

Another interesting idea that comes to fore in the Mohanty interview is the shifting of the focus from the omniscient author onto the reader. The gaze of the reader becomes as important as that of the narrator, who makes no pretences of presenting a mediated reality and freely comments on them in a manner so ironic that unless one is familiar with the social background of the text in question she would be thoroughly misled into taking the narrator at face value, thus misreading and misinterpreting the text. Hence another idea that becomes apparent in reading such culturally and socially grounded literature is that what is needed is some amount of prior knowledge regarding the working and functioning of the Indian society in general and the regional society under discussion, in particular.

Postmodern and realist strategies as employed by Fakir Mohan Senapati thus underscore the rich linguistic traditions, and folk traditions, making it clear that the text under discussion is not a simple representation of reality but one that is imbued with a reformist zeal of its kind; one which has the penetrative capacity of seeing beneath the veneer of one and all and pointing toward the pretences of a society which is sadly innocent and vile at the same time. Had Senapati simply given a factual account of the exploits of Mangaraj the novel, Chha Mana Atha Guntha (Six Acres and a Third) would have lost its richness. But interspersed with irony, humor, and understanding of human follies, it becomes an account which resembles a richly textured tapestry. All kinds of people make the world. If there is a Mangaraj, there is a Santaani too; if there is a Champa, then as an alter ego there is a Saria too. Mostly the village people are seen as innocent, gullible and ignorant, easily conned by their smarter counterparts. But the picture of the I9th century Indian Odia society that Mohanty etches has implications in terms of universal knowledge; cunningness is outwitted by cunningness, there is always a more cunning person in this world. The end that such people come to is also pathetic (though strongly reeking of poetic justice), both Mangaraj and Champa die in an undignified manner, and those who are involved with them suffer, but their suffering is caused not due to their own doing but by their sheer unfortunate presence around such vile people. Bhagia goes crazy when he is cheated of his land and his hut demolished, the beloved cow of his wife Saria, Neta, taken away; and for the already miserable, barren Saria life loses all meaning. She gives up eating altogether and dies.

The novel mirrors a society that is enamored by the idea of the God who can be appeased and who can take care of those who suffer on this earth. It is no wonder that Goddess “Budhi Mangala“ becomes acutely important in their lives in times of crisis, and it is for offering an elaborate prayer to the goddess that Bhagia and Saria end up losing their piece of land “Chha Mana Atha Guntha“ (Six Acres and a Third) from which the novel derives its title.

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