Dr. Krishna Kant Singh
Professor of English
P. G. Dept. of English
Veer Kunwar Singh University, Ara
As the word ‘identity’ refers, it means to find out the real state of being identical, absolute sameness and exact likeness. In other words who somebody is and really what he or she is. The modern man has been facing the dilemma of self-realization in this commercial world of materialism. The advanced civilization has bereaved man of love and affinity between man and man. And even the close relationship has been the medium of give and take, the real affinity and human vitality has disappeared from man. In this way the whole world has been squeezed to commodity instead of remaining a sensitive and passion – pro-being.
We find that colonial mind set of the people and two world wars have created the realm of chaos of faithlessness in the minds of young men of almost all the countries which has cut societies from the previous generations. And the existing man is standing on a cross – road looking with bewildered eyes and unable to think what to do. In this chaotic state of mind man seems to have lost his own identity and he appears to be restless in search of that very one.
We notice how Arun Joshi’s ‘The Foreigner’ primarily deals with the crisis of the quest for self-identity. Sindi Oberoi, is born of Kenyan – Indian father and British mother and he becomes orphan in his childhood due to air – crash of his parents. And he is reared by his uncle in Kenya. After growing up he goes to England and America for higher study. Since his childhood he suffers from the sense of alienation and detachment as reared in quite odd atmosphere without the love of his patents.
When the novel begins the story is nearly over and the actions of the novel are narrated through flash – back technique. The opening scene of the novel shows the defaced body of Babu Khemka who is the friend of Sindi Oberoi. The friendship between Sindi and Babu Khemka grew in America where Khemka has already committed suicide under the pressure of utter despair and some mental hallucination. Babu Khemka is an Indian and son of rich man with all kinds of comforts and luxuries. His father Mr. Khemka lives in Delhi and has a good manufacturing company. For him money and fame is the central aim of life and he wants his son Babu Khemka to inherit his motto and style and to become the replica of his own life. But Babu Khemka is not efficient to fulfil his father’s desired ambition.
We find that contrary to Babu Khemka, Sindi is very intelligent smart and sensitive. But is caught under the net of the sense of alienation and craving for realization of his real self which he thinks that can be obtained with unattached actions. In this regard he seems to be vaguely influenced by the teachings of ‘The Gita’. But Sindi finds himself unable to remain unattached to any action of his life. One thing is quite remarkable about Sindi is that he always remains alert on any action or expression about others and even about his own person. And he tries all the time to find out realities of life and existence. So Sindi’s every action and life is quest for identity. And in his quest he minutely pays his attentions and observes everything around him. Nature with all its activities and the process of evolution, social structure, different people’s activities, intentions and the mode of behaviour, man’s lust, avarice, anger, passionate feelings, love, pretended love, hypocrisies and all such activities and his own involvement, attachments and unattached instincts, are the elements under his broader range of quest for identity.
We notice how during the process of self – analysis Sindi accepts his own guilt – conscious mind. In suicidal act of Babu there was intentional involvement of Sindi, at his unconscious level. Sindi’s refusal of marriage to June leads her to have a passionate and sexual relation with Babu. But June’s such bending to Babu is not accepted by Sindi and he comes at the verge of hating them unconsciously. Babu and June agree to marry. But Babu’s bad result at the examination and June’s revelation of the sex – game with Sindi, causes a gust of severe agony in the mind of Babu and he, in the state of agony and partly hallucination, commits suicide. And at his unconscious drives of mind Sindi accepts his guilt consciousness. This is why that Sindi does not want to talk over the matter of Babu before Babu’s sister Sheila. Sindi likes Sheila very much but he evades the talks about Babu in her presence which Sindi accepts:
“I liked her, but I tried to avoid questions as much I could. I didn’t want to talk about Babu. To do so I would have to talk about myself, and that would have been painful. I evaded her questions about Babu the best I could, but it was all a losing battle. Helplessly, I watched my past overtake me.” [1]
In this way Sindi’s observations and analysis of his own guilt – conscious mind is a prominent part of his quest for identity. He wants to know where does his real self exist? He seems to ponder over the things which happen with him. And at the same time his inquiring mind asks are these things the only realities or is there something beyond it? We notice how while describing the scenes of a ball party by international students association, Sindi expresses the real feelings which he derives. The purpose of the party is to make coordination and to develop the sense of affinity among the students of all races and countries. But what Sindi observes is that it brings quite opposite impact. Americans are very graceful and courteous, yet the non – American feel awkward with them. Perhaps they dislike charity to be shown to them. And in the same dance party, Sindi gets attracted to June Blyth. And he finds an ethereal beauty in her. Two contradictory feelings arise at the same time. One is that even in the great crowd of dance and get – together Sindi feels the sense of detachment and alienation and at the same moment his magnetic attraction to June, is really an enigmatic matter.
“Like all balls, the whole thing was quite a fraud. It was intended to bring foreigners in contact with Americans, but all it ever achieved was animosity; everybody ended up hating the Americans all the more.” [2]
Since Sindi is keen observer of the society around him, he finds two things – one that is the natural biological cry that attracts people towards opposite sexes and the other thing is loss of human values which creates the feelings alienation and detachment. It is due to this loss of human values that man feels lonely even in a big crowd which Sindi observes:
“It is remarkable how you can be in a crowded room like that and still feel lonely, like you were sitting in your own tomb.” [3]
The tomb symbolically stands for the decadence of human values and a barren society. The spiritual vacuum haunts Sindi terribly. When he called by June Blyth for dance he gladly accepts and while dancing he feels her waist through his fingers on it. Sindi says that he is not sexually attracted to her but in his saying so there is no truth. In this regard Sindi fails to perceive the natural cry of his own unconscious mind. And it comes to the surface of his conscious mind which is apparent when he says:
“I got up and went to the spot where I held her last. I raised my hands to my face and tried to inhale her fragrance; but it was gone.” [4]
We notice how Sindi is always alert while discovering his own identity. And in this process he has to remove layer by layer which cover the oceanic deep of the unconscious mind where lies the real being. He admits that he has remained in constant battle with his own self. The division of his own self, into two parts – one getting lured to sensuality and the other seeking the mental state of non – attachment, becomes the cause of his dilemma. The novelist seems to convey the message that it is not only one Sindi rather the whole human race has been turned Sindi and remaining in the shade of constant battle with himself man suffers terribly. And it is here that the man’s tragedy lies in the modern age of material advancement and lures. Sindi enjoys sex – game with June but he refuses to marry her. After all what kind of inner instinct prevents him from marrying whom he loves and shares carnal pleasure? It is necessarily the lack of sense of responsibility that he does not want to carry the burden of maintaining family affairs. He lives in the state of confusion, dilemma of loneliness and meaninglessness of life which Shankar Kumar holds that Joshi protagonists suffer from such mental despair:
“Arun Joshi has been concerned more with the dilemma of the human loneliness which has various manifestations in the forms of powerlessness, meaninglessness, formlessness, cultural estrangement, social isolation and self – estrangement.” [5]
We notice how the east – west encounter, particularly the cultural clash has uprooted the national as well as individual’s identity. And almost every urbanized and educated man has been prey to the loss of national as well as individual identity and he is bound to remain in the pangs of rootlessness and alienation that has caused split in personality and psychic despair. As Shankar Kumar holds:
“The Indo – English novelists discussed so far deal with certain stock figures representing the need for national and individual identity arising out of the east – west encounter, ignoring this aspect of the problem makes such figures rootless and alienated.” [6]
We notice how the split in Sindi’s personality has created such a condition of hopeless drift; confusion and despair in him that he feels sadness even in state of love and he says:
“I was full of love and sadness at the same time even if I loved her and she loved me it would mean nothing, nothing that one could depend upon. I was not the kind of man one could love. I had learnt that long ago June it took almost a year to find out.” [7]
Love, which is the essence of human life, has lost its meaning and decency in modern man and he has turned to be a machine who uses love – making acts only as an out – let for his or her mental and psychological strains and tensions. And after love – making acts both forget their attraction and gratitude to each other. The similar instance occurs in T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’ where it is perceived ‘The human engine waits like taxi throbbing waiting.’ As the critics hold that the Indo – English novelists of the post – independence generation basically deal with the individual’s identity and the national identity, it is a fact. Arun Joshi too deals with the crisis of national identity. There is a constant battle on the psychological level between the class of proletariat and the class of bourgeois. Even after hard labour the proletariat always face hard times and they are exploited by the bourgeois mentally physically and economically. And on the other hand bourgeois class live on other’s toil only because of their capital. In the factory of Mr. Khemka the workers always remain frightened under the psychological pressure of being retrenched. But the future of the nation is likely to be changed and in that changed state of country every man will be equal to the other.
“India is working towards a new age. Mr. Oberoi’. He said grandly. ‘An age is which each man will be equal to another.” [8]
A huge section of people are very much conscious of the gulf between the proletariat and the bourgeois. And apart from the economic disparity, there is a great psychological sense of superiority in bourgeois which stand as anti – humanity. This inner sufferings of proletariat group raise the voice of protest which one day will be winner. And such voice of protest and the feeling of being suppressed also is one of the kinds of national identity.
On the other hand bourgeois feel pleasure in being richer and their whims and identities lie in their social status. For them life means things of comforts and big bank balance. The real life, which is love, sentiments and emotions, has got punctured out of them. Even they treat their sons and daughters as factory which would satisfy their whims. Such people have derived real life from the life of their children. In real sense they have turned machine working automatically. Mr. Khemka is a representative the bourgeois class whose inhumane attitude and immoral instinct can be well witnessed who mars the real life of his son Babu Khemka and has high hopes from him as the producer of more factories in future:
“Sheila said, ‘where is the harm in that? Babu was his son. He loved him! Yes he did. But not as a son. Your father loved him like a factory. Babu was a pawn in your father’s hands with no will or life of his own. That’s why he couldn’t bear the thought of Babu marrying June. It didn’t fit in his plans. He wanted to marry Babu to fat Marwari girl whose dowry might bring him half a dozen new factories.” [9]
What Joshi has painted out in the context of national identity is the feeling of class consciousness that is major theme of the social – condition’s exploration Sindi’s quest for identity begins from his sense of alienation and detachment and the quest gets its completion in solving the social problems of existence. When he appears the scene he is witnessed completely thinking about himself and observing his own labyrinth of mind. And after moving from one country to the other and having sex – experiences with several girls at last comes to India and joins Mr. Khemka’s factory. After the ill practices of Mr. Khemka, his factory comes at the verge of nearly shut down. Then, on the request of the employees there, Sindi accepts to continue his working there only for the survival of the workers. It is here that Sindi comes out of self – centred cage and offers himself as a unit of the social structure. Thus it can be said that Joshi has been dealing with the quest of individual identity as well as national identity.
Joshi’s second novel ‘The Strange Case of Billy Biswas’ too is a superb work of art. The surface analysis of Billy’s character might look strange but the psychological analysis of his personality reveals the fact that Billy’s act of relinquishing advanced cultural society and his family members, is a sharp reaction against the artificialities and hollowness of the so – called advanced and prosperous society. When the novel begins; Romi the friend of Billy, expresses his opinions regarding Billy’s bend towards primitive life of man. And perhaps the search for inner force which provided the shape of man’s life in the primitive period is the object of Billy’s quest. Though Billy does not know exactly what attracts him and compels him to leave the culturally advanced society, yet in the labyrinth of his mind there is something more valuable than the obtained family status and social splendour. As Romi tells about him, he (Billy) preferred living in slum areas when living in America for studying anthropology. Right from the stage of obtaining maturity he was anxious for seeking his real identity. He had firm belief that life can be understood not in civilized pretentious society where everything is artificial – artificial behaviour, artificial masked face and whimsies. Romi finds a clue about Billy’s attraction towards primitive force from his (Billy’s) friend Tuula who is a psychiatrist and expert in analysing the man’s instincts hidden in unconscious drives of mind. After remaining in company of Billy Tuula cravings:
“Billy feels something inside him, but he is not yet sure. Sometimes he is afraid of it and tries to suppress it... A great force, urkraft, a ... a primitive force.” [10]
Explaining about the impact of Billy’s voice and statement Romi says that he had never come across such thing. What Billy’s voice convey is really ethereal?
“His conversation was not clever or brilliant, but it was full of surprise. It twisted and turned like a firefly in a garden lighting first this flower, then that revealing not only the mind of the speaker but also the dark unknowable layers of the mysterious world that surrounded us. It stretched the ordinary into the cosmic, pulled the ethereal down to the tangible and infused everything with an intelligence that was easily the sharpest that I had ever come across.” [11]
We find that what Romi described about Billy’s speech and its impact, is not mundane rather it seems to be the expression of some mysterious voice and the scene of some ethereal beauty and truth where even trivial turns into the shape of cosmic. In relation to Billy’s urge for primitive force he has an intelligent argument. He seems to hold the views that culturally, scientifically and intellectually advanced society copies the past life which does not exist now. And the so called people live as they see other people living, so their mode of living life is imitation of others. And further others imitate so many others. So the so – called advanced people in real sense cannot be called living persons rather they live lived life in the past. But contrary to it the real life emerges from inner soul and it can be lived from moment to moment. And the life lived in imitation is no life at all. And this real life living in the darkness and labyrinth of the soul compels Billy to leave the civilized society and to begin his journey for the quest of identity Billy has no problem of rootlessness of his identity like that of Sindi Oberoi of ‘The Foreigner’, rather he has the problem of seeking his real identity which he firmly believes that can be found in company of tribals who, even today, are far away from the imposed artificialities.
As it is apparent Joshi has introduced a strange vision of life through character, actions and thinking of Billy Biswas. It is necessary to have a brief sketch of Billy’s life. Billy, the son of a Supreme Court Justice and reared in well to do family in Delhi, is sent to America by his father to study engineering. But instead of taking a degree in Engineering, he prefers to study Anthropology and is awarded Ph. D. Degree in it. In America Billy makes friendship with Romesh who is gingerly addressed as Romi, Romi gets back from America after the death of his father and he competes in I.A.S. examinations and gets his posting in Jhansi. Billy too, after returning from America joins a job of lectureship in Delhi University. There as a teacher of Anthropology he works for some time and marries Meena, a Bengali girl. He has a child from Meena, but the life of culturally advanced society does not suit to his temperament. He gets lured to his long reared lures of primitive life, consequently Billy disappears in jungles of Maikala Hills and begins to live the life of a tribal. There he gets attracted and solaced spiritually after being in company of Bilasia, a tribal girl. Bilasia and Billy live as wife and husband. The news of disappearing Billy is circulated and after the search of several months it is hold that Billy is killed by wild animals. But one day Romi gets Billy among the tribals and there proceeds a conversation between the both friends. Romi is well acquainted with Billy’s aim and intention. The news of Billy’s remaining alive circulates and Billy’s family members attempt to find him but unfortunately Billy is killed during his search.
We notice how renouncing his interest in the workings of civilized society Billy begins to look indifferent to these things. Romi gets a clear – cut symptom of Billy’s dullness and absurdity which speaks out in a party:
“... the Billy Biswas I had known was finished snuffed out like a candle left in the rain.” [12]
As it is apparent from Romi’s observation, Billy is standing at the cross – road and ponder where to go. His course of life is about to change. He seems to detest the incessant strives of civilized and advanced society to get material comforts and gains in abundance. To Billy all these things appear to be superficial and useless. He is in search of the source of life and particularly the essence of existence. And at last Billy goes to the tribal areas of Maikala Hills with a group of people and leaving them he disappears in the jungle and gets rid of his followers with the help of one of the tribals named Dhunia.
The tribals have great reverence for Billy because they know that the glow of Chandtola peak got revived after Billy’s arrival among the tribals. There was a long cherished belief that Chandtola peak has lost its glow since thousand years back after the poisoning of their then king. And the glow can revive only when the soul of that past king and queen get incarnated and they unite. It happens that after the union of Bilasia, the tribal girl, and Billy, Chandtola peaks has begun to glow. So the tribals regard Billy and Bilasia as the king and queen of the primitive period. Whether the knitted story or belief regarding Chandtola peak is true or imaginary and legendary, but the revived glow of Chandtola peak has confirmed their belief so they have regard for Billy and Bilasia.
Since his childhood of thirteen or fourteen Billy’s inclination towards the tribal people had remained in his unconscious drives of mind which time to time used to pull him towards those people of tribal type. And further when he went to America he preferred to take his refuge among Negroes in Harlem instead of remaining among the cultured and civilized white Americans. And after going to Maikala Hill area he was attracted to the tribal people as a piece of iron gets pulled towards mighty magnet. It can be said that some primitive force might be dwelling somewhere in labyrinth of Billy’s unconscious mind which could have provided him full solace in the presence of Bilasia which he himself admits:
“It was closer to madness, the terrible madness of a man who after great sin and much suffering finally finds himself in presence of his God. I don’t believe I had ever felt towards any other woman what I felt towards Bilasia that night. And I don’t think I shall ever feel it again, even towards Bilasia. It was that passing moment that rarely comes in a man’s life, when he feels that he has suddenly discovered that bit of himself that he has searched for all his life and without which his life is nothing more than the poor reflection of a million others.” [13]
What could have happened at the mental or psychic plain of Billy, cannot be known or perceived by the readers. But the message that Billy conveys through this statement, it seems that he has obtained something which is much more valuable than the mundane means of comforts and glamourous life. As his friend Romi says Billy is free from any ambition. It means he is fully satisfied with what he has. But his ambitionlessness cannot be equated with that of great seer like Lord Buddha or any other of that kind. Had Billy attainted the state of enlightenment like Buddha he could not have refused to see his wife Meena or his father Mr. Biswas. Even after Billy’s self-realization, if at all it can be said, he remains sticking to the tribal people and his second wife Bilasia, it can be well said that he is hypnotized and not the enlightened or liberated soul of ambitionless. Of course this one may be said that in the company of tribal woman and tribal people Billy might have felt genuine love and sentimental attachment. Where people have concern with the natural cry of the psyche which provides much more mental peace and contentment. In this way we find that Billy’s quest for identity has a different course of action than that of other protagonist like Sindi Oberoi.
We notice how quest for identity has been dealt with different angles in life. In case of Sindi Oberoi in Joshi’s ‘The Foreigner’, the problem is rootlessness of the hero. He does not feel attached with anyone even after remaining in company of them. Sindi enjoys the carnal pleasure with June and many others but he tries to remain unattached with them because his sense of rootlessness and alienation haunts him. And after experiencing sweet and sour fruits of life he feels that to be is to be related. Without being related and without carrying the sense of responsibility to society or larger humanity it is impossible to exist. So he establishes his relationship with the social affair and takes the responsibility of people to save their lives from being ruined due to starvation and he takes decision to remain working in Mr. Khemka’s company. Thus Sindi’s quest for identity gets completion in social relationship.
In ‘The Strange Case of Billy Biswas’, the quest for identity proceeds in quite different direction. Billy, the hero of the novel, is culturally, socially and economically advanced man. But the artificialities and hollowness of the so – called modern and advanced society always pinches him like a nail in his mind and heart. A strange force in his personality always howls and he likes to make distance with the people of cultured society. Even when he goes to America, he chooses for his dwelling the slum area. He feels that his identity is lost in the cultural society – rather he feels himself to be derailed from the real stream of life. And a mighty primitive force compels him to remain in the company of the tribals. He finds his identity regained in Bilasia. The novelist seems to convey his sharp reaction against the so called artificial and sentimentally and spiritually hollow and dead society. In this way it is quite clear that the novels of Arun Joshi have crisis of identity and in almost all his novels heroes are witnessed struggling to seek their identities in their own ways. But the angles of seeking identities differ from novel to novel.
References:
1. Arun Joshi, The Foreigner, p. 17.
2. Ibid, p. 21
3. Ibid, p. 22.
4. Ibid, p. 24.
5. Shanker Kumar, The Novels of Arun Joshi: A Critical Study, Atlantic Publishers and Distributers – 2003, p. 15.
6. Ibid, pp. 14 – 15.
7. Arun Joshi, The Foreigner, p. 34
8. Ibid, p. 38.
9. Ibid, p. 51.
10. Arun Joshi, The Strange Case of Billy Biswas, Orient Paper Backs, Ansari Road, New Delhi – 110002, Edition. 2020 – pp. 21 – 22.
11. Ibid, p. 24.
12. Ibid, p. 63.
13. Ibid, p. 129.
