Kanthapura

Kanthapura

Kanthapura  is a novel by Raja Rao. It is considered as masterpiece in Indian Writing in English. It it microcosm of macrocosm. or we can say it a miniature of India.

Contemporary freedom fighting movement is interwoven with the religious stories in the novel. The novel is located in the southern India.

What interesting thing about this novel is that Raja Rao uses English language the way Indians used. Raja Rao is criticized for his use of English language, because it is full of mistakes. But he clarified in the preface that i have written the way Indans speak the English language.

Moorthy is the protagonist in the novel.

Achakka  tells the story to the grand children. the kind of background of freedom fighting movement given is vivid and real. Kanthapura at the end of the novel has turned into Kashipura.

The story is narrated in flashback by Achakka, a wise woman in the village. She, like her female audience (whom she addresses as “sisters”), has survived the turbulence of social and political change which was induced by Mohandas K. Gandhi’s passive resistance against the British government. Achakka provides a detailed picture of the rural setting, establishing both an ambiance and a rhythm for the novel. It is clear that her speech and idiomatic expression are meant to express a distinctively feminine viewpoint an extraordinary achievement for a male Indo-English novelist. Achakka quickly creates a faithful image of an Indian way of life, circumscribed by tradition and indebted to its deities, of whom Kenchamma, the great and bounteous goddess, is made the village protectress. She is invoked in every chapter, for the characters never forget that her power resides in her past action. It is she who humanizes the villagers, and their chants and prayers ring out from time to time.