Assignment paper no 4:-Indian Writing in English

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Name : Nirali dungrani

Roll no : 30

Enrollment No:-2069108420180012

Year: 2017-19

M.A. semester :1

Paper no : 4 Indian writing in English

Email id : dungraninirali@gmail.com

Assignment topic : Role of religion in Indian society in faker of jungheera

Submitted to : smt.S.B.Gardi, Department of English.

                                                

 Introduction:-

                            Henry Derozio

                         

                           

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, in born April 18, 1809, Calcutta, India—died Dec. 26, 1831, Calcutta. Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was an Indian poet and assistant headmaster of Hindu College, Calcutta, a radical thinker and one of the first Indian educators to disseminate Western learning and science among the young men of Bengal.

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio as the first Indo- Anglian poet. He was a poet, thinker, radical, and one of the earliest Indian educationists to disseminate western learning and philosophy among the young men of Bengal was also crucially the first modern Indian to write of the incumbent nation extensively in English.

 Derozio became famous in his lifetime as India’s first national poet. On 25 December, 1822 Derozio’s  first sonnet signed D.V.L.H. called ‘sonnet to night’ was published in the ‘India Gazette’ when he just thirteen and with this he claimed the title.He removal to Bhagalpur the following year saw an immediate spurt in poetic activity and from January 17 onwards, he published approximately twenty poems in that paper, many of which were later collected in his book of poems.

 The son of an Indian father and an English mother, Derozio was influenced by the English Romantic poet. He began publishing patriotic verses when he was 17, which brought him to the attention of the intellectual elite of Calcutta. In 1826 he was appointed instructor at Hindu College, where his reportedly brilliant teaching influenced his students and won him their loyalty. In 1828 his students organized the Academic Association, a debating society that drew both Britons and Indians to discussions of religion and philosophy.

In the spirit of English rationalism, Derozio criticized the social practices and religious beliefs of orthodox Hinduism. Accused of irreverence by his students’ orthodox Hindu parents, he was forced to resign by the directors of Hindu College in 1831.

Long after Derozio’s death, his influence lived on among his former students, who came to be known as Young Bengal and many of whom became prominent in social reform, law, and journalism.

          Fakker of Jungheera

         

 The Fakeer of Jungheera was one of the most important landmark in the history of patriotic poetry in India. As he considered India to be his mother he worried about Indian social, political and religious problem. He also worried about the class and caste discrimination.

In his days Bengal faced many problems of caste and creed. The reassessment and inclusion of Derozio in the canon of Derozio in the canon of Indian writing in English has to do with many factors, like communism, religious aspects, colonial aspects.

 In 'The Fakeer of Jangheera'.  Fakeer is the follower of Islam. Fakeer means saint a person who has renounced the world but here he loves a lady Nuleeni who is married and also an uppercaste Female. Nuleeni was married to a Brahmin. Her husband dies in an early youth.

Naleeni, the beloved of Fakeer never loved her husband. In the days of never loved her husband. In the days of Henry Derozio Indian subcontinent was cought by many evils like 'Sati Pratha' killing girl child by boiling the still born baby in the hot pot of milk etc. Nuleeni belonged to a conservative Hindu society in the nineteenth century.  She was pure and beautiful she doesn't went to end her life behind a person whom she never loved.

Nuleeni was brought to the spot where her husband is to be cremated. Women were singing songs praising sati. They sang of going to heaven but poor Nuleeni was lost in the thoughts of Fakeer. She refuses to die on the funeral pure of her husband and esapes with the bandit faker to his cave in Jungheera to a life from death; She escaped death but she starts a life of forbidden love though frightened by violent social norms she believes that her lover's courage and her anfailing love will finally make them victorious. Her fair and beautiful face brightens the dark social setting of the poem and mitigates the bold audacity of the Fakeer who snatches her from the midst of a group of mourning upper caste Hindu at the Funeral.

In the intense bond of love they forgot the society. They forgot their caste discrimination. They forget strength of power. They Forgot strength of power. They Challenged the man made norms of the society. Both of them completely forgot themselves and did not realize that their lives were at risk. Fakeer, bravely snatched her from the hands of so called upper-class people. Would they tolerate this insult of taking away of female by weaker sect. Here, the brave rebellion of the weaker sect draws the attention to the inequality of the sexes and social malaise rampant in Bangali Society of the time. In can say that the poem makes an important stage in the use of social themes in literary texts endorsing a syncretistic tradition quite popular in 19th century Bengal. Instead of  be laboring upon the misery of slavery, Derozio embarked upon a mission of resolving some of the inherent evils of Hindu society especially the practice of widow burning.

         

The poem starts with nature's description and then takes many twists. The poem deals with many serious issues of social evil along with the tragic love affir as the protagonist of the poem is a robber Fakeer who belongs to some unidentified Muslim sect, While the heroine, the widow Nuleeni, comes from an upper caste Bengali Hindu family. Derozio uses Cristain Imagery, Such as heaven and angles flitting about. He juxtaposes this imagery against the Hindu tradition of sati and muslim prayers. He imitates the English Romantic poets like wordsworth, shelly and Coleridge. In the poem, the imagination is marvelous.

Derozio breaks all the norms of writing of the contemporary poem writing. It was not easy for the contemporary writers to break the established laws and at the same time challenging the upper-class of the cosecant. He wanted to eradicate the social evils that slowly swallowed the society. This Hindu-Muslim love story arose great sensation. The poet was marginalized in his time.

The poet paints the heroine as a 'perfect' Bengali beauty – with large black eyes, black in braided tresses, a pale lily complexion and majestic walk. When she arrives at the funeral her eyes searched somebody when he comes she escapes with. He, her lover Fakery had to fight before taking his beloved with him. At the Fakeer's cave. Nuleeni and he lived very happily. They both are lost in the materialistic. They both are lost in the materialistic imaginative life. They are lost in their world. But Nuleeni in the midst of happy life always feared of some unseen danger. Here, the midst of happy life always feared of some unseen danger. Here, the description of nature seems to be one with the feeling of the love.

The first canto of the poem mainly deals with the fantastic description of nature, the funeral procession of a Bengali upper-class Hindu family's son, the escape of the widow with her faker lover to his cave. The upper-class widow lived with many maid lives happily in the cave of her Fakeer lover always waiting for something unseen to harm them. She smelt something wrong. She worried for she doesn't want to depart from her lover at any cost. Many a times through the poetry we see her lost in her world, sometime. We see Fakeer lost in his dreamland.

As happens in ancient Greek tragedies and Shakespearean tragedies, their tragic doom and mistake of risking their life were waiting for them. As they were run-away lovers Nuleeni's father – the so called upper-class widow's father would definitely revenge him.

Now, Derozio sees love between a Hindu and a Muslim as transcending religion, though this could be Derozio's own atheistic vision of religion categories based on his rationalistic temper. There was a hardening of identity of Bengali Muslims in the subcontinent as Islam provided 'a sense of belonging' to the Muslim community. In the absence of powerful Muslim leadership in 19th century Bengal, the ulema emerged as the leaders. Britishers were partial too. On one hand the prohibited sati system on the other hand they allowed being sati with permission. The hardening of religious categories in colonial Bengali lays the ground for the inevitable conflict that ensues in the second canto.

In the beginning of the canto the end lies. The popular belief that love for a woman can lead any god-fearing young man away from the worship of Allah. Then starts the tragic events one by one. The father of beautiful widow Nuleeni determines to avenge Fakeer. He goes to Shah Shiva the king of his time. He requests him to send  his army with him to avenge the Fakeer. The uncertainty of life and death begins at this stage. Nuleeni's father comes to the place where the lovers lived with the army to avenge his insult. He did not even think of his daughter's happiness or love.

Now Fakeer has no choice, if he runs away from the battle field. He would be caught and punished. He decides to fight back the army of Nuleeni's father. The story at this point becomes somewhat sketchy but the robber Fakeer decides to make a lost stand and  fight. However Nuleeni fears that the dubious hour might bring doom :

Let me warn the that our doom so bright may darkly end – as darkly speeds the night – But the Fakeer is confident of Victory.

 Ere long I'll worn thee in my breast again –

With the 'battle cry' of 'the moslem ringing afar' to fight the 'royal cavalry', he is mortally wounded with a lance.

Nulleeni cradles him in her arms and dies together with him – he 'eloquence had all burned out'. She becomes a free agent to choose her destiny; she prefers to die together with someone she loves than with her husband whom she does not. In ancient India woman were allowed to choose their life partners on their own. In our Epics sita, Rukmani, Sati, Parvati (The incarmation of Sati) Draupadi, Subhadra, Kunti, Gandhari, Sanyogita etc. Choose their husband on their own. In absence of Pritiviraj Chauhan Sanyogita put  garland on his statue and took her with him – such was grand and glorious past culture of India which was ruined due to foreign invasion.

Nuleeni did not die behind her husband. Now, she is free here to die with Fakeer. She did not die with her husband because she did not love him but she loved Fakeer beyond anything else in the world. For him she left all the luxuries of her life, He also risked his life to be united but they were doomed to depart. Nuleeni decides to die behind him. The Sanskrit word sati means a 'good and vitreous woman' who was truly devoted to her husband. And according to the Hindu tradition these virtues found expression is the ultimate act of self-immdation. Women who sacrificed themselves continued to be called sati long after they were dead and usage of the term 'to the sacrifice alone, the act as well as the agent.

·     The social Malaise of Sati:

         

 Instead of belaboring upon the misery of slavery, Derozio embarked upon a mission of resolving some of the inherent evils of Hindu society especially the practice of widow burning. In his notes on canto 1, Derozio criticizes the mistaken belief that the practice of Hindu widow burning exemplies “an act of unparalleled magnimity and devotion” and explains at length the problem of sati and his position on it, He writes,

“The fact it, that so far from any display of enthusiastic affection, a suttee is a spectacle of misery, exciting in the spectator a melancholy reflection upon the tyranny of superstition and priest craft. The philanthropic (the practice of helping people in need) views of some individuals are directed to the abolition of widow burning; but they should first ensure the comfort of these unhappy women in their widowhood otherwise, instead of conferring a boon upon them, existence will be too many a drudge, and a load.”

Derozio approvingly quotes a writer from the Indian magazine and endorses the latter’s opinion that sati constitutes the most barbaric and degrading aspect of Indian society which can be overcome through education and intellectual development. During the 19^th century many upper caste Hindu women willfully committed sati mistakenly believing in the veracity of the Hindu ritual, an abominable act through a long process of socialization.

·     Analysis of Fakeer of Jungheera poem:

                        

The protagonist of the Fakeer poem is a robber Fakeer or a mendicant, who belongs to some unidentified Muslim sect, while the heroine, the widow Nuleeni, comes from an upper cast Bengali Hindu family. Derozio’s uses Christian imagery, such as heaven and juxtaposes it against the Hindu tradition of sati, Muslim prayers and tantric tale of raja Vikramjit and Baital to create acquaint, `romantic atmosphere.

There are however conflicting opinions about his character. There are some who say that he is saintly wise and holy while other talk of his mindless cruelty, treachery and devilry. In stanza four the poet comments that there are cases when evil men may take to religion to hide their criminal intent.

 The wonderful play of light and shade bring out a deceptive human nature and the evil that lies buried in the human soul.

·    Conclusion:

The hardening of religious identifies in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries and the deepening schism between various religious categories, especially Hindus and Muslims, rejected the entire syncretistic tradition that once flowed unhampered not only in Bengal but the entire British India exemplified in the cult of satya pir. The theme coupled with the use of imagery set in the Indian context imparts to it a unique Indian colouring. This poem amply testifies to the poetic genius of such a young poet.  

Works Cited

<www.britannica.com>.

<vibhutibhatt232013.blogspot.in>.