Reviews

[We shall be glad to review books in all Indian languages and in English, French and German. Books for Review should reach the office at least SIX WEEKS in advance of the day of publication of the Journal]

ENGLISH

Purdah-The Status of Indian Women. –ByFrieda Hauswirth (Mrs. Sarangadbar Das), Regan Paul, London, Price 6sh.

Mrs. Das's first book A Marriage to India, published last year, dealt mainly with the problem of inter-racial marriages in India and incidentally referred to the social and economic conditions of the village life in this country. It was written in a racy, spicy style, and the observations recorded therein were direct experiences and reactions of a white woman married to a coloured man living under new and trying conditions. It was neither exaggerated nor distorted, neither too critical nor too sympathetic; nor was it coloured with too much personal prejudices, common to such books. It was as truthful as it could possibly be.

This second book of Mrs. Das, Purdah, is another honest attempt on her part to understand and interpret the real status of Indian women, in the social, economic, political, and religious life of the people, as it was, as it is, and as it is likely to be; and it may be said at the very outset, that she has remarkably succeeded in portraying the forces and personalities "behind the veil in India," with rare insight and understanding. It must not be supposed that she has dealt with Indian Womanhood, in all its aspects, exhaustively and comprehensively.

In fact, narration of some of the incidents connected with the women's part in the Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930 is only partially true, as she herself was not present in India at that time and had to depend upon a restricted source of information. Like the previous volume, this one also betrays Mrs. Das's weakness for mentioning names that are well-known and fairly well-placed in life. The psychology is only too obvious. She gives the impression to the reader that she moved exclusively in the best of society possible and met only the greatest people of the land. She has no place for the huudreds of the middle-class and less-known men and women she met in India, and, perhaps, through whom she learnt more about the country, its art and literature, and to whom, as the reviewer can testify, she owes more for her knowledge and information than to the oft-mentioned names in the book. If Mrs. Das had cared to know, she would have been supplied with hundreds of names of brave girls who played no less heroic part in the last struggle than Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, Mrs. Hamsa Metha or Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya. Not that their names should necessarily be mentioned in a book like the one under review, but it is rather tiring to read merely the names of the so called "leaders" of the country as if others did not exist or were not worthy of any notice.

Barring this defect, the book is, on the whole, a carefully compiled compendium on woman's status and influence in India. The first few chapters deal with woman's position in ancient India, and it is a fairly correct presentation of the subject, summarised briefly and concisely. The author reveals her sympathetic nature in her intelligent understanding of the ancient ideals of the Hindus, and she studies the age-old institutions of caste, child-marriage, polygamy, matriarchy, devadasis, with equal discerning intelligence. She neither condemns nor criticises, but just interprets their ideals. She understands their evils and wisely does not advise, but points out the weak spots. She had special advantages in her wandering life in India; she met all sorts of people, in all sorts of conditions: she lived in great cities and in the villages and she moved with the orthodox as well as the progressives, and this rich experience has, naturally, mellowed her judgment.

"Some Helpless Women of India" is an interesting chapter, being short sketches of well-known women like Lady Bose, Saroj Nalini Dutt, Pandita Ramabai, Mrs. Ranade, Sarojini Naidu and Dr. Muthulakshmi. This chapter could have been improved by adding a few more sketches of young women workers like Mrs. Kamala Nehru, Miss Zutshi, Miss Sofia Somji, Mrs. Munshi, Miss Ganguli, and Kamaladevi. Many books have been written, both by Indians and Westerners, in reply to Miss Mayo's Mother India, but this book excels them all, in that it is written by another American woman (though Swiss born) who contacted Indian life intimately in all its phases and therefore was in a better position to judge.

Mrs. Das has rightly given a prominent place in her book to the part played by Indian women in the last national struggle, and the several instances of heroism, courage, endurance, patience and suffering cheerfully borne she quotes, are too well-known in India. She says: "The womanhood of India gained the following inestimable advantages from the Nationalist movement: Millions of women broke in one short year fetters which normally it would have taken generations to shake off; they broke them not in rebellion against their own guilty men-folk who had forged them, but against the alien government at whose expense India was thus saved from the deep internal conflict and bitterness which the fight for emancipation had called forth between the sexes in Western countries. Moreover, they have the mother-adoring youth of India solidly behind them in their support."

The conlouding chapter "Personal Observations" is quite reminiscent of her first book, wherein she records her impressions and personal experiences in a free and easy way, and it makes very interesting reading. There is a frankness about her utterances and a desire to say the truth without much colouring. She may be wrong in some of her views or utterly misinformed with regard to certain facts, but she is artless in the expression of her views. Such fearless and honest expression of opinion is always welcome, and from that point alone this book is worth reading. It is both well-printed and attractively got up.

A Wandering Harp.–ByJames H. Cousins, Roerich Museum Press, New York, U. S. A. Price Rs. 3.

Dr. James H. Cousins is well-known in India. He came out to this country about 1915 and worked first as a journalist, then as an educationist, and latterly as the head of an International University at Adyar. He was a popular figure among Indian students and was greatly loved by all. His work in connection with the artistic renaissance is too well-known to be referred to here. His books have had a good circulation and his poetry well received in educational centres in India. He has over twenty books to his credit, half of which are books of poems.

A Wandering Harp is a selection of poems from his old works and is now presented to the reading public in an attractive garb by the Roerich Museum Press of New York. There are over 120 poems, some long and some short, ranging over a period of thirty years and written in different parts of the world and conveying varied moods and themes. Cousins was one of the major poets of the Irish Revival, and, today, he is one of the acknowledged poets in the English language.

His poems are finished examples of skilled workmanship and show labour, patience and "the genius of taking infinite pains." There is a tendency, in some of them, to be learned, scholarly and meta-physical. There are others which are exquisite little gems, full of colour and imaginative feeling. His poems are best appreciated when they are recited by the poet himself, and new meanings and significance peep out of apparently insignificant words and phrases. He is both a creative artist and a critic, and has a rare insight into things, and as a cultural interpreter and messenger he stands unrivalled. He was till lately engaged as "Guest Lecturer" in the New York University, and this volume of verses is a silent testimony to his popularity in that new land of his adoption. This is about the best printed and published book of Dr. Cousins, with green and gold binding, and ought to be treasured by every admirer of this Irish Poet and Friend of India.

Humanity Uprooted.-By Maurice Hindus, Jonathan Cape, London, 12sh.6d.

Maurice Hindus is one of the most fascinating writers in the English language, and one of the most popular of authors. An artist by instinct, he paints word-pictures of scenes, events, personalities and problems with the deftness and sensitiveness of a master-painter. Russian by birth and American by adoption, Hindus isa world-citizen and observes and studies life and its problems from a humanitarian point of view. His book Broken Earth is one of the most widely read books of modern times; his Red Bread, a sequel to Humanity Uprooted, created great sensation. Maurice Hindus' broad intellectual outlook and keen synthetic vision have made him one of the intellectual forces of today.

Humanity Uprooted deals with that outstanding event of this century–the Russian Experiment. Hundreds of volumes have already been written by world-famous writers on this subject, and very few prominent literary figures of the modern world have left the subject untouched. Wells. Shaw, Russell, Tagore, and a host of other international men of letters have written their impressions of Russia, but this one of Maurice Hindus is, to the reviewer's mind, the best of them all. Wells himself acknowledges this fact in his letter to Hindus: "I have just read your book. It answers a score of questions I've been asking about Russia and a score of others I should have asked had I known enough to ask them. It is as illuminating and exciting as it is convincing. I've learnt more from it than from any other work I've read for years."

A book with such an enthusiastic introduction from one of the foremost thinkers of modern times needs hardly to be reviewed or praised. All I wish to do is to draw the attention of the readers of Triveni to the fact of the existence of a remarkable book, written by a remarkable man on a most remarkable understanding of a great people. It is written in the most attractive style and keeps the reader fascinated from first to last. It is an artist's description of a world cataclysm, in rich and warm colours, and therefore of apparent transparency and truth. No personal bias or prejudice, no individual idiosyncracies or interests, no attempt at justification or explanation. They are like the colours put direct on the canvas from the palette as the artist saw and reached to the changing conditions. Their appeal is personal and intensely human; truly a precious document of human hishory. No modern man can afford to miss this intellectual treat and no book can give the satisfaction on the many burning questions on Russia as this does. A truly amazing book.

G. VENKATACHALAM

Malaviya Commemoration Volume.–(BenaresHindu University, 1932, pp. X., 2007. with five portraits of Malaviyaji, twelve photographs of the Benares Hindu University and twenty-seven plates of a scientific and general nature. Price Rs. 10.)

"Three score and ten" applied to any mortal being in India is a theme to conjure with. Paudit Madan Mohan Malaviya reminds us today of the glory and limitless powers of our ancient rishis. Tbe Benares Hindu University must be congratulated on bringing out this sumptuous volume of over two thousand pages of scholarship, as a tribute to the work of the greatest Indian of the past fifty years, next only to the Sage of Sabarmati. The Malaviya Commemoration Volume will go down to history as a great human document, fully representing the tendencies of the modern era in Indian national activity, scientific advancement, philosophical attainments, and more than all, human relationships.

The Volume contains eighty-seven papers written by eminent persons and is divided into five sections: Literature; History, Politics and Economics; Religion and Philosophy; Science; and Greetings, Appreciations and Memoirs.

The Volume fittingly opens with a message from Mahatma Gandhi in a facsimile of his Gujerati handwriting, paying his tribute to Malaviyaji and his work. A Hindi translation of this letter is appropriately appended.

In Section I, Rabindranath Tagore and Jagadish Chandra Bose discourse on the modern age and the unity of life. As if to crystallise the life message of Malaviya, Dr. Tagore says:

"To-day, more than ever before in our history, the aid of spiritual power is needed and therefore I believe its resources will surely be discovered in the hidden depth of our being. Pioneers will come to take up this adventure and suffer, and through suffering open out a path to that higher elevation of life in which lies our safety."

The citadel of orthodoxy and Hindu piety, Malaviya has for over half a century striven to maintain the pristine purity of our race. He risked his all in this research of our national ideal. But Malaviya the adventurer is with us when he burnt his boats and made his voyage to England to attend the Second Round Table Conference and also when he changed his life-long convictions to bring about a rapprochement between the caste Hindus and the so-called Untouchables in the cause of true national emancipation. Sir Jagadis Bose, emphasising the unity of life, observes that we are not afraid that the march of knowledge is a danger to our true faith, "for we have still the sanaysin spirit which utterly controls body and can mediate or inquire endlessly while life remains, never for a moment losing sight of the object, never for a moment let it be obscured by any terrestrial temptation." Pandit Malaviya, again, symbolises this fundamental unity of life and change.

It will be impossible in a review to do justice to the numerous papers contained in the Volume. Besides the two papers mentioned above, the Literature Section contains eleven others ranging from "The Anglo-Saxon Settlement in Britain" to "The Dawn of Lyrical Poetry in Bengal." Seventeen papers cover Section Two which deals with History, Politics and Economics. Messrs. Jayaswal, D. R Bhandarkar, Ganganath Jha, Radbakumud Mukherji discuss certain aspects of ancient Indan history. Dr. Stella Kramrisch and Mr. O. C. Gangoly, Editor of Rupam occupy us with a disquisition, each, on Indian art, the latter giving us for the first time a print and commentary on the newly discovered illustrated MSS entitled "Bala Gopala Stutih." A thought-provoking article by Prof. S. V. Puntambekar on "The Rise of Fascism" is very appropriate in this volume intended to popularise the idea of neo-nationalism as lived by Pandit Malaviya. Dr. Beni Prasad of the Allababad University gives us a paper on "Towards Democracy" which is extremely helpful. Religion and Philosophy are dealt with in Section Three. Sir S. Radhakrishnan opens this section with a dissertation on "Intuition in Kant's Philosophy of Religion." I am sure that all the twenty papers in this Section will appeal most to Pandit Malaviya, in that they contain the quintessence of Hindu life and teaching. Ramananda Chatterjee writes "A Humble Apologia for my Astikya", while Principal Dhruva of the Benares Hindu University has a very useful paper on "The Veda and Its Interpretation." Such a pronounced Brahmin scholar as Mr. C. V. Vaidya, author of the History of Medieval Hindu India, writes a very interesting article on "The Position of Untouchables in Sanatana Dharma." Writing this review when the fast of Mahatma Gandhi was started on the 20th September, I must confess that I felt great comfort in this article, particularly in view of the fact that Pandit Malaviya has given the country a tremendous lead in the effort to stamp out this blight on our national character. Twelve essays follow in Section Four dealing with Science. Eminent Indian scholars have in this section justified the prediction of Sir Jagadish Bose at the beginning of this Volume that the efforts of a ranascent India are directed towards the supreme task of co-ordinating the spirit of the sanyasin with that of a truly scientific outlook on life. Sir C. V. Raman, Meghnad Saha, S. S. Joshi, Bholanath Singh and others in this Section enrich the domain of international scientific thought and indicate the fact that in the world's onward march of scientific progress, India is not lagging behind.

But the real human interest of the Commemoration Volume lies in the last Section which contains Greetings, Appreciations and Memoirs of a score of eminent Indians about Pandit Malaviya. Rai Bahadur Salval Das’s reminiscences of a teacher are most illuminating in so far as they indicate the promise shown by pupil Malaviya over fifty years ago. Sachchidananda Sinha's delightful ten-page sketch of Malaviyaji gives us a picture of young Malaviya already establishing his reputation for unstinted service and uprightness of character as early as 1888 when the Fourth Session of the All-India Congress was held at Allahabad. Dr. G. N. Chakravarti, ex-Vice-Chancellor of the Allahabad University gives us a picture of what a class-fellow of Malaviya thought of our illustrious countryman. Sir P. C. Ray, Messrs. C. Y. Chintamani, N. C. Kelkar, Bhagavandas, and Sir M. Visvesvaraya join the chorus of praise giving us points in their individual reactions to the personality of this "Prince of Beggars" to whose lasting endeavour the Benares Hindu University vies with JOhn Hopkins University and other universities of the West started by individual effort. Sir Mirza Ismail and Mr. G. K. Nariman, representatives of the Muslim and Parsi faiths in our Motherland, emulate each other in their praise of Malaviyaji who, notwithstanding the fact that he symbolises in modern India all the greatness and conservatism of the Hindu faith, was able to cordially demand and pleasantly sustain the admiration, respect and friendship of sister communities in this land of religions. A few articles in Hindi enrich the value of the Volume which has thus a wider appeal to the people of India who do not know the English language sufficiently well.

A glance at the Malaviya Commemoration Volume is an invitation to buy, and no library, public and private, in India should be without a copy of it.

LANKA SUNDARAM

Shakespeare and the Problem of Evil.- By M. V. N. Subba Rau, M.A., Lecturer, The Andhra University. The East and West Publishing House, Rajahmundry. Price (?)

Shakespeare is a sure touchstone. We cannot write or speak about him without being platitudinous, but the platitudes of Mr. Subba Rau are simple and not ponderous. His book has the merits and defects of an elementary book in that it is simple but inadequate. He is safe in treading the middle path of the late Sir Walter Raleigh; for if he errs at all he errs on the side of sanity and Shakespeare. The Bradley-Dowden-Harris view erred on the side of imagination; the Stoll-Schucking-Robertson view erred on the side of canon and clap-trap; and Bernard Shaw erred on the side of Ibsen and himself. Mr. Subba Rau writes with much persuasive sweetness on many aspects of the problem; and reveals his constant awareness of the fact that whatever might have been Shakespeare's philosophy or his views about dogs, mobs, puns, or witches, whether his art was an accident or supremely conscious of itself, he was primarily a craftsman and man of business who pilfered from Pultarch and Boccacio, imitated and parodied the Marlowes and Peeles, and improvised stories of love and hate, duel-scenes and death-scenes, puns and songs, to please his patrons, the Queen, the Lords, the liveried courtiers and the garrulous groundlings. Mr. Subba Rau does not try to distil a system of philosophy; but writes about the working of Evil, the old theory of waste, the tyranny of Chance, the symbolism of the Tempest and its significance as the testament of Shakespeare; and explains how, while in the Comedies virtue and love overcome and convert vice and hatred, in the Tragedies all is gloom and waste and suffering. He sides with Johnson against Beeching on the Principle of Justice, or rather the lack of it, and shows how, if innocent creatures like Cordelia perish, they perish in a just cause, "contrary to the natural idea of justice, to the hope of the reader, and what is still most strange, to the faith of the chronicles." He has succeeded in producing a readable book on a worn-out theme; and it is most heartening to come upon a pandit, who avoids the clap-trap of Shakespearean canon and indulges in some good hearty rhetoric.

M. CHALAPATHI RAU

Rock-cut Temples Around Bombay.-By Kanaiyalal H. Vakil, B.A., LL.B. (Published by D. Taraporevala Sons & Co., Bombay, Price Re. 3.)

The well-known art-critic of Bombay, Mr. Kanaiyalal H. Vakil, has brought out this excellent illustrated brochure about the rock-cut temples around Bombay. The little book is full of big ideas. The plan and method are striking, making one wish more from the author. "Human belief in the common and permanent heritage of Beauty" is the key-note which Mr. Vakil strikes, and consequently he very pertinently rebels against all academic or rather ‘policed’ criticism and study of these ancient monuments of art. He brings in a ‘vision which animated the ancient imagination of the country’ to give us an insight into these ancient works of art. The illustrations are well-choiced and beautifully reproduced making one eager to see them in larger size. A perusal of these carefully collected pictures with their respective foot-notes alone would enlighten the reader a great deal about the artistic glory of ancient India. At a time when the whole mind of the nation is bent upon revival and reconstruction of the land on truer foundations a book like this should be in the hands of all thinking persons who care for the welfare of ourMotherland.

M. S. SUNDARA SARMA

TAMIL

Thirugnanasambandar.–ByMr. C. Sivagnanam Pillai. (Published by Messrs C. Coomaraswamy Naidu & Sons, Madras. Price Rs. 1-4.)

Mr. Pillai is the author and editor of several valuable Tamil publications. His wealth of experience in the Educational Department has stood him in good stead in bringing out works in Tamil, suited to students of High School Classes. Born to a heritage of Tamil culture, he has brought to bear the influence of that culture on all his works. The author's Ramayana series for the young has won the appreciation of eminent educationists. His Thirugnanasambandar forms an intelligent compendium of research. Here, in this book, his diction is quite felicitous, his language is marked by Perspicacity, and his arguments by sound logic. In dealing with the biography of Saint Sambandar, the author has treated the subject in the form of an essay closely following the accounts of Nambiandar and Seikilar. He has placed the valuable matter within the easy reach of all. The second part contains an exhaustive annotation of all the important passages connected with the Saint and his clear exposition is very useful. The life of the Saint is treated under well-defined heads,–birth, age, chronology, descent, Thevaram and its inner significance, his contemporaries, the blending of classical words with the Tamil, the truth about religion, miracles, old customs and festivals, and particulars about the several decades of Sambanda's life and how Sambanda attained mukti. The Tamil public must be indebted to the author and publishers for this work.

VIDWAN P. A. MUTHUTHANDAVAROYA PILLAI

TELUGU

Neelirathnalu.- By Sri Ramachandra Appa Rao Bahadur, Nuzvid.

This is a collection of lyrics by a young aspirant to the poet's role. The poems mark the writer's youthful enthusiasm and his love of wild imagery. The note of plaintive appeal to an unattainable, unsatisfying object of attachment is kept throughout. But the thoughts are overlaid in such sweet confusion that the reader must shift for himself. Lyric Poetry is not a well-established form of Telugu Literature. There are not more than half-a-dozen men of note who wield that instrument with success. Too much of what passes as Telugu lyric poetry is simply born of youthful ardour. Consequently it is unreal, pointless and ineffectual. The book under review contains a good number of such poems but there are others which bear a promise of something better. If the young poet can hold his enthusiasm in check and keep his imagery clear, it is not unlikely that he will fulfill that promise.

G.V.S.