Triveni Journal
1927 | 11,233,916 words
Triveni is a journal dedicated to ancient Indian culture, history, philosophy, art, spirituality, music and all sorts of literature. Triveni was founded at Madras in 1927 and since that time various authors have donated their creativity in the form of articles, covering many aspects of public life....
Reviews of Books
ENGLISH
The Government of India Act. 1935.–With commentary by N. Rajagopalan, M.A., M.L., Advocate; Introduction by Sir Alladi Krishnaswami Aiyar, Advocate-General, Madras. (Printed and published by the Madras Law Journal Press, Mylapore, Madras. Price Rs.7/-)
The Government of India Act, 1935, has given rise to several commentaries and expositions. Mr. N. Rajagopalan’s work is one of the most notable of them. He has gathered together a vast amount of useful information, not ordinarily available to the student of constitutional law. It is well to have the ipsissima verba of the White Paper, the Joint Parliamentary Committee Report, the speeches in the House of Commons or the House of Lords, and the decisions of the Judicial Committee, bearing on each particular provision. Analogical references have been made to the features of other Federal Constitutions, notably those of Canada and the United States and the case law relevant thereto wherever possible. A large number of appendices bring the necessary materials within the compass of a single work and greatly add to its utility.
It is, however, difficult to share the views expressed by Sir Alladi, that the commentary is closely reasoned and analytical. Mr. Rajagopalan’s method is entirely different. He walks into court like a barrister, armed with numerous references. He cites them copiously, but judiciously. He lets every Section speak through its draftsman, and those who had to deal with it in committee or in debate. He also gives the criticisms and suggestions of those who had to consider them. He has discharged this work with an amount of accuracy and judgment that render the book indispensable to any person who wants to understand the bulky, complex Statute, in all its bearings.
Mr. Rajagopalan has taken the view that the formation of interim Ministries in April last in some of the Provinces was not quite legal. The question, at this stage, is of an academic character, but should it arise again, all the aspects, more particularly those relating to the place of the Instrument of Instructions in the Statute, and the mandatory character of Section 50, may have to be considered more fully.
N. S. SRINIVASAN
No-Man’s Land.–(Five articles reprinted from The Aryan Path, Feb.–June, 1937. The Theosophy Co., Ltd. (India), 51, Esplanade Road, Bombay.)
The world of thought today seems to be a phantasmagoria. No philosophy or creed wears the title-deeds of certainty or security. Science has begun to waver in its materialisms; biologists and astronomers alike are seeking the aid of an ultimate divinity. Religion, orthodox religion in particular, has become preservative and has lost the spirit of inquiry. Thinking men in the East and the West are turning to seances, magic, and irrational beliefs for the explanation of the mystery of life. This region has always been a ‘No-Man’s Land.’ Approached in the right manner, it is not a land of magic and superstition alone. It offers the key to a Final Explanation. No one can deny that there is immanent in the life of plants, animals and men a Presence which lives and informs all levels of life with its intelligence. In men it reaches the stage of self-consciousness. In Heroes and Divine Incarnations like Krishna, Christ and Buddha it seems to reach out towards the wider cosmic spirit. We know but little of its mathematical principles and operations, but that little should teach us the uniformity of Nature in the field of minds as well as bodies. When men begin to study the operation of such laws, "a new era in the affairs of mankind" would assuredly dawn.
This is, simply, the essence of this little book. Yet that essence is lost in discussions of spiritualisms and materialisms of various kinds. And in a book of this sort, there inevitably appear passages from H. P. Blavatsky. The author challenges, "Is there anything in any science, religion or philosophy worthy of its name which can be offered as rebuttal evidence?" against the Presence of the Spirit in the body and its supreme intelligence. No one will doubt the existence of the Presence in bodies as well as things, but its supreme intelligence may not always be so clear. What we need, says the author, is synthetic thinking, Self-contemplation, Self-revelation, a new mysticism. We agree with him so far as the individual is concerned; we doubt if a science of human affairs can be built on foundations of such mysticism.
D. S.
A Hindu Reformation.–By Nilkan Perumal. (Published by Messrs. R. J. Ram & Co., Triplicane, Madras. Price Rs. 2 or 3 sh. net.)
Who can deny the young Ruler of Travancore the paeans of praise that are his due for the memorable act of throwing open the Hindu temples of his State to the Harijans? Indeed, history will record it as unparalleled, just as poets and writers will make it unforgettable in their songs and stories. Mr. Nilkan Perumal’s book of less than hundred pages, so very attractive by its fine get-up and ample illustrations, .is none too soon after the event nor even over-laudatory of its significance, considering the magnitude of the change in outlook the Proclamation symbolizes and the nation-wide appreciation Travancore has elicited for the lead she gave in Hindu reformation.
Starting with an account of the sensational news of November 12. 1936, the book gives us a glimpse of the Travancore State and her natural resources. The Ruler and his mother are then presented to us in vivid portraiture of their winsome personalities. If the author exclaims with admiration "what a different Princess she was from some others of her status in life?" we find an echo of his feelings in our hearts.
The Dewan, Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar, always looming large in the public ken, wins his share of the tribute that has been unstintingly paid to the wonderful vision and magnificent policy of the Maharaja. The brilliant record of his career, so unintermittently active since boyhood, is briefly narrated here with adequate knowledge of details. Perhaps to those who are not aware of the personal bond of affection that knit Sir C. P. to Mrs. Besant, the information of the testementary gift by Mrs. Besant of a golden casket to Sir C. P., will be revealing of their lasting friendship and loyalty towards each other.
The other chapters of the book take us on to the story of the untouthables of Travancore, the early endeavours of nationalists to relieve them of their sad lot, the visit of Mahatmaji during the Vykom Satyagraha movement, and his recent visit after the fulfillment of his long-cherished hopes. Most of this is of such topical interest that readers in this country would resort to it with animation and understanding, even as outsiders may be drawn to it by curiosity and love of information.
Written in simple English, the book invites a pleasant hour of perusal. If the Proclamation of Travancore has stirred deep ourhearts, no less have the royal family and their far-sighted Dewan, who played no insignificant part in it. If the history of India’s fight for political freedom will absorb the attention of the world, no less will the crusading spirit of her children against age-long conservatism and narrow superstitions. We congratulate the author on his readable book.
K. C.
Kannada-Nudiya Huttu (The Origin of Kannada Speech).–By S. B. Joshi. (Madhav Ballal Bros, Dharwar. Pages–VI+202; Price Re. 1.)
Mr. Joshi’s name stands high in the list of those few scholars who have sincerely devoted themselves to an assiduous study of the Kannada language and have been ceaselessly endeavouring to extricate it from the decay into which it has gradually fallen for the last few hundred years. It is Mr. Joshi’s special distinction that he is attempting to popularise the study of the Kannada language by inducing in us the consciousness of the infinite possibilities of its future development by writing books eminently readable on an abstruse topic like the present one. His earlier works, the "Kanmariyada-Kannada" and "Maharashtrada Mula", etc., aim at this one single thing–the popularising of this neglected yet fertile branch of enquiry regarding the past and future of the Kannada language which has earned the admiration of many a sound critic from West and East alike.
The present book principally sets out to acquaint even the ordinary reader, uninitiated though he may be in linguistic enquiry, with many uncared-for expressions now grown obsolete for want of currency, and also to bring to his mind the resourceful possibilities of a future enrichment by an adaptation of the various methods of word derivation. Deploring the disuse into which a large number of expressive words and phrases have fallen and the consequent inflexibility which has set in, weaving around the language an air of decadent classicism, Mr. Joshi has, in the present volume, very sincerely and with rich and rare insight, dived into the almost lost recesses of the Kannada language and has laid bare its hidden treasure. The extensive influence which Sanskrit has had upon the formation and development of Kannada has not only put a limit upon its growth but has blinded those who use it in speech or in writing, to any idea of its being developed on lines different from those adopted in Sanskrit grammars. Rhetoricians there have been who have imposed unnecessary restrictions on the choice of diction so that a rigorous acceptance of rules and regulations from every quarter has now rendered Kannada almost as stiff and difficult as Sanskrit itself. There is no denying of the fact that Sanskrit has overfed its child and has re-made it in its own image, when we clearly see the similarities of syntax and inflexion. In the present work there is a continuous endeavour to get conscious of the shackles that bind the language and to find out ways of escape by all possible means which we are at liberty to devise.
Quite apart from external influences, the vocabulary of a language with increase of power of expression is generally augmented by applying to the primitive stock the various methods of derivation and composition. Mr. Joshi places particular emphasis on this possibility of the growth of the language from within. He deals extensively in six chapters with the various methods, grammatical and other, by which the native stock of words can be enlarged and effectively used. Among the variety of methods that he discusses and proposes may be mentioned the following: the formation of new suggestive derivatives by means of native affixes; the attempt to reinstate in use words and expressions, mono-syllables and compounds which through evil chance have fallen into disuse; the selection and use of words which owe their modern forms to folk-etymology by taking advantage of the popular tendency to give a more familiar form or sound to an unfamiliar word; and lastly, the increase in the number of words more or less onomatopoeic. Not content with what native affixes and the refashioning of neglected expressions can bring into the language, the author proceeds to propose that wherever inevitable, methods of derivation should be picked out from the study of other languages (e. g., the method of transferring a word from one part of speech to another without change of form, such free use of words as to call up before the mind vivid images, the process called ‘formation,’ reduplication, etc.).
The exceptional vigour and effectiveness of the verbal derivatives in Kannada and of onomatopoeic expressions or gems of speech garnered from uneducated speech, whether merely expressive of certain sounds, reflective of certain emotions or exactly etymologically traceable, is not only recognised by patriotic complacency but is recognised by foreign scholars such as Dr. Fleet when he observes that Kannada "is the most mellifluous of all the Indian Vernaculars and richest in the force of expression." The importance of synonymous words, racy and idiomatic expressions is hardly to be exaggerated, and Mr. Joshi has rendered a unique service to the students of the Kannada language in the exhaustive glossaries that he has compiled at the end of Chapters VI and VIII. The chapter on compounds followed by that on participle derivatives and one more exhaustive chapter on all the important affixes which may be fruitfully utilised to the best advantage, are all that can be desired.
In all this, there is on the part of Mr. Joshi a constant consciousness that a language should, as far as possible, try to stand on its own legs, fall upon its own resources, sedulously rejecting external influence. Mr. Joshi is not unconscious of the fact that such a policy of strict self-sufficiency cannot hold its own against the varied demands of modern life, and he admits that neologism and borrowing should be resorted to only under inevitable circumstances. Nevertheless Mr. Joshi offers a point for criticism when he rather over-enthusiastically insists upon the use of native words, however obsolete, in preference to others of a foreign language when such foreign words have been too popular to be supplanted. Words such as the ‘cinema,’ ‘motor,’ ‘station,’ ‘soda,’ ‘biscuits,’ and a host of others have got to be retained, simply because they have become popular and their corresponding expressions in Kannada, however correct and convincing, can never commend themselves to popular acceptance. That is however as things do go, and it would be surely unwise to cast doubts upon the extensive and undeniably valuable suggestions which Mr. Joshi has incorporated in his learned book.
The book is at once learned and easily readable, simple and direct in expression, profound without the least taint of pedantry. To say that it should be ‘a talisman on every writing wrist’ and a companion to every lover of the Kannada language, is surely no exaggeration but a quite inadequate statement about the nice volume for which Mr. Joshi must be on all hands congratulated.
V. M. INAMDAR
Mandakini.–By M. C. Srinivasan, M.A.,B.L., Advocate. (Published by Vathsa & Co., Triplicane, Pages 120. Price annas eight.)
The author of this small novel has tried to impress upon the public the urgent need for rural reform and has brought forth a few suggestions, which are particularly applicable to our country. The ideas contained are not utopian, but are easily realisable. The maxim ‘keep your ideal distant,’ should not be applied here. For these are not ideals to be wondered or looked at with awe and admiration, but a few practicable suggestions demanding careful consideration.
The plot is a simple one. The hero Prakash is at once an ardent rural worker and an unostentatious simple servant of the people. The heroine loves him intensely but at the same time differs acutely from him in his notions of life. The divorce of ideas leads the wife to part from him at first; but when she finally tries to come to him repenting her bad acts, the husband takes the turn and clears out of the field.
It is worthy of note that throughout the book, the author has stressed the need for the spirit of service and a readiness to forgive mistakes always going hand in hand.
The style is crisp and simple; the presentation is good; the ideas deserve more than a passing notice. Nowadays, when there is so much talk about public service and rural reconstruction, this novel presents them in an attractive manner.
S. SUNDARARAJAN