Reviews

Sri Aurobindo or The Adventure of Consciousness: By Satprem. Translated from the French by Themi. Published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry-2. Price: Rs. 15-00.

Sri Aurobindo - The Poet: By K. D. Sethna. Published by Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, Pondicherry-2. Price: Rs. 14-50.

Correspondence with Sri Aurobindo: By Nirodbaran. Published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry-2. Price Rs. 16-00.

            Sri Aurobindo or The Adventure of Consciousness is a good biography of Sri Aurobindo but with a difference. In this the biographical details are skilfully woven into the enunciation and exposition of Sri Aurobindo’s unique thought and philosophy. All incidents in the life of Sri Aurobindo are viewed as resultants in the great adventure Sri Aurobindo made in consciousness and in the adventure he wants us to make in our consciousness. The author takes us through the principal stages of these changes of consciousness as Sri Aurobindo has experienced them and described them to his disciples in his integral yoga– “right up to the point where they lead us to the threshold of a new, still unknown experience which perhaps will have the power of changing life itself.” For, “the ascent of man into heaven is not the key, but rather his ascent here into the spirit and the descent also of the spirit into his normal humanity and the transformation of this earthly nature. For that and not some post-mortem salvation is the real new birth for which humanity waits as the crowning movement of its long, obscure and painful course.”

The author fully brings out the part that is being played by the Mother in this adventure of consciousness. Quoting Sri Aurobindo’s pronouncement that “the Mother’s consciousness and mine are the same”, the author remarks: “It is very symbolic that the living synthesis between East and West, which Sri Aurobindo already represented, is completed by this new meeting of West and East, as though the world indeed could only be fulfilled by the junction of these two poles of existence, consciousness and force, the Spirit and the Earth, He and She always.”

Ostensibly written from a Western point of view, advocating a pragmatic approach to Life’s problems, the book serves to enlighten the Eastern mind as well, in finding the perfect harmony of East and West, of inner freedom and outer mastery.

All the sages in India, down from the vedic times, have been seers and the word used in the Veda to denote a seer is Kaviwhich later on was used to denote a poet. The Vedic Rishi were Kavayah Satyasrutah, seer-poetsendowed with an inner audition of Truth. The Vedic Rishi saw in his inner vision the form-pattern, heard in his inner audition, the vibration of the Truth in the high supernals Parama vyoma. Fashioning them by the heart, articulating them in language, the Vedic Rishibrought these intimations down asthe Riks.

Coming inthe line of the Vedic Rishis, Sri Aurobindo is a poet in the pristine vedic sense. Sri K. D. Sethna, an eminent disciple of Sri Aurobindo and eminently equipped for a penetrating search for the soul of poetry and the possibilitiesof its higher expressionaffords us in his book: Sri Aurobindo: The Poet, some glimpses of the world of Sri Aurobindo’s poetry. Written with great insight and a critical capacity for appreciation, the book is bound to appeal to the non-poetic temperament as well. Particularly interesting and valuable are the chapters on Savitri, the magnificent epic-poem of the Master. When very few knew about the masterpiece, how the author was admitted into the secret and got as a sample of overmind poetry the opening lines of Savitri, are narrated effectively. Sri Aurobindo’s modest comment–quite characteristic of him–about his sublime work is quoted: “Well, it is the difference of receiving from above and living in the ambiance of the above–Whatever comes receives the breadth of largeness which belongs to that plane.” Three lines from Savitri are taken up to illustrate Coventry Patmore’s distinction of the poetic phrase under three heads: piquancy, felicity, magnificence. Again, examples from Savitri and other poems are studied applying Ezra Pound’s classification of poetry. The last two chapters counter ill-informed criticism of Sri Aurobindo’s poetry.

A well-documented book helping all lovers of genuine poetry in the understanding and appreciation of Sri Aurobindo’s poetical works.

“For joy and not for sorrow earth was made” declared Sri Aurobindo in his epoch-making epic-poem Savitri. The third book under review: Correspondence with Sri Aurobindo by Nirodbaran is a vindication of this great declaration. For a long time people judged the personality of Sri Aurobindo from his profound philosophical works like Life Divine and the Essays on the Gita. And those who were fortunate to have had his Darshan were confirmed in the idea that he stood like a colossus, serene like Shiva, magnificent and majestic like the Himalayas, seriously steeped in his Yogic endeavour, far removed and remote from the ordinary run of humanity. What a surprise in store for them when the letters of Sri Aurobindo to his disciples began to be published! Here, they saw quite a different Sri Aurobindo, not remote at all, completely human, kind, considerate understanding and sympathetic with an outstretched hand to succour and to save.

            Ye yatha maam prapadyante taam stathaiva bhajaamyaham. In the way, his correspondents approached him, Sri Aurobindo responded accordingly. The book under review is of special interest to us as Sri Nirodbaran had taken upon himself the representative role of humanity which struggles, suffers, doubts, despairs, gets dejected, depressed, closes its eyes in misery even when confronted with joy. Nirodbaran is the typical man of sorrows. Pages after pages reveal how Sri Aurobindo has tackled his stubborn disciple now with flashes of wit and humour, now with ready repartee, now with scathing criticism or biting sarcasm, now again with affectionate chidings. As the author says, “how an indirect contact through letters could be made so close, vivid and tangible is an art whose magic Sri Aurobindo alone seemed to know. A phrase like “hold on! Hold on!” when the sadhak was in a mood of despair, or “move on, move on” when he was curious to know whether he was moving at all, or a simple exclamation mark in the margin are things that can be immensely enjoyed only if the context is known.” Nirodbaran’s questions side by side with Sri Aurobindo’s answers make fascinating reading. Yoga is no longer a serious dry-as-dust affair, full of troubles and tribulations. In the hands of Sri Aurobindo, it turns out to be a happy sunlit path strewn all around with flowers of gaiety and merriment. Humour, it has been said, is the salt of life. We know it is the salt of Sri Aurobindo’s Yoga which embraces all life.
–S. SHANKARANARAYANAN

Great Composers: Thyagaraja: By Prof. P. Sambamurthy. Indian Music Publishing House, 4 Bunder Street, Madras-1. Price: Rs. 10;

Needless to tell the world of music of the importance that a composer of the calibre of Saint Thyagaraja can always evoke from rasikas and musicologists the world over as well as a genuine interest in both his life and his achievements in art. Prof. Sambamurthy has been an indefatigable collector of materials both of the life of the famous singer and his intrinsic worth as a composer of eminence. As always with the Professor, his narration is full of the unusual happenings that have been associated with the Saint’s earthly career and also the many incidents which go to prove that Thyagaraja was an outstanding musician and a composer of songs which practically shaped the future for the unimpeded reign of Carnatic system of music in the south.

This is a second edition of an earlier book under the same title but really enlarged by addition of a greater number of details and accounts which had come tothe knowledge of the Professor. Nearly nine more chapters have been included in this volume and the spirit of dedication which has infused the author is evident in his approach both to the life and the contributions of Thyagaraja to Carnatic music. In describing the compositions, the adoption of classification into Samudaaya Kritis, Ghana Pancharatnas, etc., and his operas like Prahlada Vijayam, Nowka Charitram, Sita Rama Vijayam, provide the student of music with a clear perspective of the art and achievement of the great composer. The Professor’s knowledge of the technique and peculiarities of the composer mainly draw our attention to the special features of his art. Not only has the Professor filled these pages with Thyagaraja’s contributions to music but gives a conspectus of Carnatic system itself when he has compared the art of the saint with his contemporaries like Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri, thereby enriching the reader’s scope for a greater understanding of Thyagaraja himself. Other compositions on Thyagaraja have also been commented upon, making the book a compendium of all that is necessary to evaluate Carnatic music as vivified in the latter part of the eighteenth century. With a bibliography and an Addenda and Index, the value of the book, especially to students of colleges taking Music as their subject, is bound to be inestimable.
–K. CHANDRASEKHARAN

Early Temple Architecture in Karnatoka and its Ramifications: By Sri K. V. Soundararajan. Published by Karnataka Research Institute, Karnataka University, Dharwar-2. Price: Rs. 7.

The book under review is the compilation of the lectures delivered by the learned author on South Indian Architecture in 1968 under the auspices of the Karnataka Research Institute. The subject matter of the talks was the evolution of the early Karnataka architecture, its impact and its later development in the country as a whole.

The zenith of Karnataka architecture was reached under the great Chalukyas of Badami, who later on, under Vishamasiddhi or Kubjavishnu proliferated to the east coast also, and founded the great empire of Vengi in Andhra Desa. More or less Contemporaneous with this outburst of genius, was the hey-day of the Pallava architecture in the south, which maintained its verve and originality for three or four centuries more. The effervescence of architectural genius occurred at Aihole, Mahakuta, Badami, etc., on or near the Malaprabha river. The first great Chalukyan structural temple, (now curiously known as Ladkan temple) was built at Aihole or Aryapura. Starting from this early experiment, the Mahakuteswara temple at Mahakut, the Mallikarjuna temple, the Durga temple, the great temple complex at Pattadakal, etc., all form a galaxy of various temple styles. From these beginnings, the splendour of the Chalukyan architecture waxed and waned though the vicissitudes of centuries, and attained its height, in the famous temples of the Vijayanagar monarchy of the 16th century A. D. During the course of these ten centuries, over hundreds of temples and structures have been erected through the length and breadth of this area.

Karnataka region, unique in India, is a plateau land with river system, dividing the area into three zones, viz., the North fed the river Krishna and its tributaries, the middle with the North Pennar river system, and the South watered by the Cauvery system. The land is locked in by the Sahyadri mountains and the Eastern Ghats. This and the dominant trap country which occurs in the North, gave the area a homogeneous pattern in which distinctive styles could develop and flourish. The individuality of the typical Chalukyan architecture in the north, the Ladkan and Badami style in the middle, and the western Ganga style in the south, is a direct sequel to this physical pattern.

The growth of this distinctive architectural style, through three stages, viz., the formative stage, the stage of standardisation of types, and the third, the stage where the canonical and aesthetic elements came to be associated with the architectural pattern, have been very elaborately and ably studied by the author. Of particular interest are the various elements like the Sukhasana feature, the Mahesa concept, the Sarvatobhadra shrine, the differentiation of the Sikhara idiom, etc., which are all quite characteristic and distinctive of the Karnataka type of architecture. The predilection for certain northern trends in iconography in preference to the southern school, have in particular been stressed by the author.

The author has also clearly brought out the differences between the sculptural art of Karnataka, with its delineation of elemental emotions, and graceful combination of clothing and jewellery noticed in the early stages, and which gained sophistication under the later Rashtrakuta age and the southern Pallava art, which is more sedate, with compressed modelling and ornamentation. Both are the products of the respective local ethos, and are to be based on the local tradition in art and religion.

Sri Soundararajan, the author, is a well-known archaeologist and is now working as Superintendent of Archaeological Survey under the Government of India. He is a distinguished student of temple architecture and has contributed a number of works about other styles of temple architecture also. The subject chosen by him, viz., the temple architecture in Karnataka, is a very important and weighty one, in view of the fundamental contributions which this area has made to the enlightened motivations in these fields in an ancient India. The Malaprabha valley is a paradise for the students of early stone temples. The iconography itself deserves several exclusive volumes. The author has done full justice to the theme, and has developed the subject-matter in his characteristic logical manner, with a wealth of detail and understanding.

The author and the Karnataka University authorities are to be congratulated for bringing out the volume which is so rich in research material and which is at the same time so well-presented as to be readable even by the general student.
–N. RAMESAN

History of the Freedom Struggle in Princely States: By R. L. Handa. Published by the Central News Agency, New Delhi. Pages 414. Price: Rs. 30-00.

No history of the Freedom Movement in India is complete without an account of the efforts that were made by the States people ­to reinforce that movement, as these states accounted for nearly a third of the area and a quarter of the population of India. This book provides the necessary supplement and gives an account of the struggle carried on by the people of the states to throw off their double slavery.

Under British Rule, India was a mosaic, with nearly 562 Indian states imbedded in India surrounded by British India. “Out of the 562 states, as many as 454 had collectively an area of less than 1000 sq. miles and 452 had a population of less than a million. It is only about 30 among them that possessed the area, population and resources of an average British Indian District.” When the E. I. Company's land-hunger in the latter part of the 18th and early part of 19th centuries got whetted by the hospitable, docile but mutually warring Indian princes, they annexed large chunks of territory but thought it expedient to leave puppet rulers to carry on under their surveillance. Protection was afforded to them but they were not to fight with one another and had to obey the British Residents or political agents. Thus came into existence these numerous states at different periods. Some of their rulers were more loyal than the king himself. Quite a few became notorious because of their luxurious and lascivious ways. Most of them had no belief in democracy or representative institutions in their dominions, and were autocrats if not unbridled tyrants.

The impact made by the National movement on the long-suffering citizens of these states as well as their rulers is the subject matter of the book.

After giving the historical ground, the author has dealt in the earlier chapters with the treaties between the paramount power and the states and throws lucid light on the tyranny that existed in some of the states. He then traces the effect of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms on the citizens, who naturally began to cherish aspirations of freedom, like their fellow citizens in British India. The Rulers, on the other hand, were hoping that the hold of the paramount power on them would get relaxed. The part_played by the Chamber of Princes, in which many of the major states never joined and which was only a deliberative body, is also described by the author.

It was after 1929 that the agitation gathered momentum in the states, when the All-India States’ People’s Conference became its mouthpiece. The facets of the struggle, the attitude of the Congress, and the integration of the states in Swaraj India are described in the concluding chapters of the book. The author truly says, “their subsequent liberation from autocratic rule in one sweep by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel comprises in our country’s history a chapter more thrilling than that relating to the unification of Germany under Bismarck in the last century.”

The book deals more fully with the broader issues and the constitutional implications of the subject than with the details of the actual struggle carried on even in the bigger states. More space could have been found for the latter. The sacrifices made by heroic citizens in the states have been no less than anywhere in British India, because some of the States’ Rulers and their officials behaved with even greater callousness than their British counterparts.

On the other hand, there were progressive rulers of states who saw the signs of the times and adjusted themselves with commendable patriotism and wisdom. Citizens of such states are not without regret at the wholesale and indiscriminate liquidation of the princely order and at the worsening of their condition under the present democratic order, which has been the breeding ground of many neo-princes.

An Index and Bibliography are added at the end of the book.
–K. SAMPATHGIRI RAO

Kalidasa: By Dr. V. V. Mirashi and N. R. Navlakar. Published by Popular Prakashan, 35 Tardeo Road, Bombay-34 WB. Pages 8 plus 473. Price: Rs. 25.

A series of books on Sanskrit poets on the line of Men of Letters Series in English, with more details, is still a desideratum, This critical and informative book on Kalidasa, written by two experienced Professors is bound to be of immense use to students of literature as well as laymen and can meet their demands. This work deals with the date, life and works of Kalidasa. All the theories relating to the date and birthplace of Kalidasa are presented herein and discussed. Finally the authors came to the conclusion that Kalidasa lived in A. D. 400 in the court of the well-known Gupta king–Chandra Gupta II – Vikramaditya.

In the second chapter entitled “The Age of Kalidasa” we are given a clear picture of the social, political and religious conditions of Kalidasa’s times that were congenial to and responsible for the birth of so great and versatile a genius as Kalidasa. After countering the arguments of those that made out cases for Bengal, Kashmir, Vidarbha and Dasapura or Vidisa as the birthplaces of Kalidasa, the authors came to the right conclusion that Ujjain is the birthplace of Kalidasa. Kalidasa as seen in his works is pictured to us in the IV chapter. Two separate chapters are devoted to Kalidasa’s poems and plays and herein are given not only the summaries of the texts chapter-wise and act-wise, but also the sources and deviations and their propriety, enabling thereby even a general reader to appreciate the texts. Seventh and eighth chapters dealing with the merits of Kalidasa’s works and the views of Kalidasa deserve special study. Prof. Keith’s view that Kalidasa could not go beyond his narrow range because of his unfeigned devotion to the Brahmanical creed of his time is refuted by our authors in the VII chapter. A comparative study of Kalidasa in an additional chapter will highly enhance the value of the book. We heartily commend this interesting book to all those interested in Indian literature.
–B. KUTUMBA RAO

Darnerla Rarna Rao – Masterpieces:. Published by Damerla Rama Rao Memorial Art Gallery and School, Rajahmundry. Pages 36. Price: Rs. 25-00

This is a memorial publication of a selection of eleven colour plates of Damerla Rama Rao including a portrait of the artist himself, with a preface by Shri K. P. Padmanabham Tampy, the famous art critic of South India and an article by Shri Ravi Shanker M. Reval taken from the magazine Rhythim of 1966.

Damerla Rama Rao belonged to the first three decades of the present century when the country was turbulent with the fever of Indian freedom. In the fields of politics, literature, music and art, great savants were born who sacrificed their all in the name of their country. In Andhra Pradesh Dr. B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya and Prakasam Pantulu, the ‘Andhra Kesari’, played a prominent role in the political field. In Social Reform Movement Kandukuri Viresalingam Pantulu played a prominent role. In the field of art Damerla Rama Rao became the harbinger of the renaissance of art.

It is really a point of pride for the Andhras that the works of Rama Rao should be preserved in all their profusion and housed the Damerla Rama Rao Memorial Gallery at Rajahmundry, and a School of Art should be run in his name. Instruction in it is free and students desirous of learning art are admitted to it irrespective of caste, creed, state, region or sex. On an average, the school has a strength of 40 to 50 students, both boys and girls inclusive. Outstanding Andhra artists like late Sri Varada Venkataratnam, late Sri V. V. Bhagiradhi, late Sri S. Prabhakaram, and Sri S. N. Chamakur, Sri Y. Subba Rao, Sri A. Venkateswara Rao, D. Butchikrishnamma and Smt. D. Satyavani are founder-members of the school. They were themselves tutored by Rama Rao his lifetime.

The school has all along functioned on the premises of Damerla Rama Rao Memorial Art Gallery. This Art Gallery is now being taken over by the Government. The school section has to find a premises of its own when the Gallery would be taken over by the Government.

The album under review contains eleven art pieces, including a portrait of Rama Rao himself done in oils by the late S. Prabhakaram, a close associate of Rama Rao. The titles of the paintings are as follows: Portrait of Rama Rao, Waterfall, The Breakers, Queen’s Toilet, Milkmaids of Kathiawar, Siddhardha Ragodaya, Pushpaalankaara, Nandipooja, Nagna Sundari, The Dancer and At the Well. They are standard works of an Andhra artist of the past, worth possessing either as an album or as pieces of wall decoration in an average Indian home. It is an interesting collection worth reading in the context of Indian Art. The get up of the album is simple and neat. In these modern days, when rich art connoisseurs are scarce, the responsibility of encouraging, as well as preserving, art falls on the shoulders of the common man, and we feel proud in introducing to him such work of art as is worth his hard-earned pie as well as his appreciation.
–V. V. TONPE

Vimanaas in Ancient India: By Dipak Kumar Barua. Published by Indian Publications, Calcutta. Pp. 245. Price: Rs. 25.

Strictly in conformance with the Buddhist canons and slightly over 18 centuries, the vimanas, numbering about 100, have risen and decayed and vandalized by Moslems beyond all renovation. This study is analytical and scholarly what with the authentic notes of travel by the Chinese Pilgrims like Fa-Hien (399-444 A. D.) Hiuen Tsang (629-645 A. D.). I’Tsing (671-695 A.D.), Taranath, etc., and the consideration of Buddhist texts of scriptural importance like the Vinaya Pitika, Visuddhi-marga, Dharmapada, Buddha’s Dharma Sutras, etc., as well as the very precious Buddhist inscriptions issued from time to time by the builders and donors to the various monasteries.

This work dealing with the Viharas which are said to have been forsworn to Buddhist educational ideals, besides being the dwellings of monks permanent as well as itenerary, and while describing their daily lives intimately, should also disclose the syllabuses of studies pursued together with the names of the teachers who handled them.

The author’s descriptions of some of the leading universities is charmingly precise. That to some extent supplants the necessity of structural plans. (Takshasila, Nalanda, Rajghir, Vikramasila, Bedsa, Ujjayini. Bagh, Somapura, Jagaddala, etc.)

Exception has to be taken to the author’s giving currency to the false and misinformed Buddhist tradition that the great acharyas like Sri Sankara and Sri Tirumangai Alwar with their followers responsible for the destruction of the monasteries at Nagarjunakonda and Nagapattinam respectively, and especially that the latter utilized the funds raised by the melting and the sale of the Buddha image for the construction of Sri Ranganatha temple at Srirangam. It may be urged in this context that the atyachara of the Bhikkus and Bhikkinis in their pursuit of their tantric and yogic ideals generally, led to the destruction of so many of the monasteries.

Despite some omissions and deficiencies, the book is still a veritable mine of information on Buddhist Viharas and the life lived therein.
–P. SAMA RAO

India’s Constitution and Politics: By A. G. Noorani. Jaico Publishing House, Bombay. Pages 588. Price: Rs. 20.

Mr. A. G. Noorani is one of our prolific writers. His range of interests, as Mr. Mulgaokar observes in a thought-provoking introduction to the book under review, is ‘astounding.’ Mr. Noorani is an intellectual. But unlike many intellectuals who make comments and post-mortems from the sidelines, he writes with a sense of “commitment and involvement.”

This book by Mr. Noorani is a compilation of articles already published by him in newspapers and periodicals. Not all critics approve of this practice of bringing out published articles in the form of a book. But few can find fault with Mr. Noorani for doing so. Among the reasons that compel one to welcome this book are–the organisation of subjects, the lucid analysis that the author makes in everyone of his articles and the mature observations that highlight these contributions. At a time when fundamental questions about Indian democracy and its future are being raised, we should welcome a book of this type.
There may be many who do not share Mr. Noorani’s views about the Jana Sangh, etc. But few will disagree with his illuminating views on the role of the Indian Muslims. He narrates the legitimate grievances of the Muslims and even laments that “any expression of the Muslim grievance is regarded as an obscenity.” Mr. Noorani, the patriotic Muslim that he is, makes a dispassionate appeal to Muslims to get into the mainstream of national life. He asks them to make “voluntary and earnest participation in the national life.”

In this book, ‘India’s Constitution and Politics,’ the latter figures more prominently than the former. There is a brief but characteristically brilliant introduction by one of our senior journalists Mr. S. Mulgaokar. Written in simple style by a scholar of national eminence, this is a timely and very useful Publication.
–A. PRASANNA KUMAR

Whither Democracy: By Madan Gaur. Trimurti Prakashan, Bombay. Pages 53. Price: Rs. 20.

This is a book different from that of Mr. Noorani although the author Mr. Madan Gaur writes on current politics. The compass is small and the approach is committed and that is what Mr. Gaur’s book different from that of Mr. Noorani.

The Author takes up ten important issues such as emotional integration and the politics of defection in his study of problems facing Indian democracy. It is not the choice of the topics that affects the value of the book. It is the manner in which the problems are analysed that constricts the utility of the venture. No doubt there are many useful observations in this book such as the need to improve the lot of the policeman in India. Nor for that matter will there be many to disagree with Mr. Gaur when he lampoons defection, provincial parochialism and other evils that afflict our society. It is, however, hard to appreciate Mr. Gaur’s unlimited praise for some of our political leaders and uncalled for censure of the others. It is here that the book is reduced into a mere polemical work lacking in analysis and content. Casting one’s sails to the winds, in political writing, can be a popular business but can never have any enduring value.
–A. PRASANNA KUMAR

Reflections on Hinduism: By Swami Yatiswarananda. Published by Bharat Sevashram Sangha 21, Rasbehari Avenue, Calcutta, 19. Price: Rs. 3-50.

The authentic and the excellent book under review are the lectures on the nature, characteristics, view and way of life of Hinduism by the senior and radiant monk of the Ramakrishna order, who has distinguished himself by his spiritual services for over nine decades. Swami Yatiswarananda has served the cause of Vedanta and the spiritual religion of Sri Ramakrishna as the editor of Prabuddha Bharata, as the President of Bangalore Ashram, and as an active Pracharak in pre-war Germany and Switzerland. For over 17 years he was serving the cause of the mission outside India. He is known to countless men by his exemplary life of renunciation and dedicated service. Hinduism is the oldest religion, representing a view of Reality and a way of life; which envisages a glorious destiny for man and a splendid social order that enables all to reach their highest in their own way.

Swamiji in twenty chapters explains in a literal way from a comprehensive catholic stance, with concrete illustration in an admirable way the several doctrines of Hinduism. It is difficult to single out the excellence of the chapters in a comparative way. The popular aspects of Hinduism ununderstood by many are clearly explained in the chapter on Hindu rituals, ceremonies and festivals (Chapter XIX), and symbol and idol worship (Chapter XVIII). The last chapter gives in a brief compass the review of the reconstitution and revival of Hinduism.
–DR. P. NAGARAJA RAO

Makers of Indian Literature Series.Published by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.

Toru Dutt: By Padmini Sen Gupta. Price: Rs. 2-50.

One of the “Inheritors of unfulfilled renown”, Toru Dutt has carved out a niche for herself in Indo-Anglian Poetry by leaving behind her “Ballads and Legends of Hindustan” and other minor poems. Critics like Edmund Gosse hailed it as first-rate poetry both for its performance as well as its promise. Though she was born in a Christian family, Toru Dutt sought to depict the glory of Indian womanhood deriving inspiration from tradition and legend. Unfortunately she was snatched away by the cruel hand of death when she was barely twenty years old. As aptly remarked by Professor K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar, “Beauty and tragedy and fatality criss-crossed” in her life. Padmini Sen Gupta’s biography brings out vividly all the three aspects of Toru Dutt whose faults proceeded from immaturity but whose poetic genius enshrined its glory in stray pieces like “Our Casurina Tree” adjudged the most remarkable poem written in English by a foreigner because of its nostalgia for the past and inner vision of sublime beauty. Padmini Sen Gupta admirably sums up Toru Dutt’s life thus: “Toru, a frail and exotic blossom which bloomed but for a short while, has left a fragrance which will never die.”

Premchand: By Prakashchandra Gupta. Price: Rs. 2-50.

The portrait of the celebrated Hindi writer emerges in all its colours from the pages of this interesting biographical study. His fair, tall figure with a big brown moustache, his strange habit of writing while lyingdown on his stomach and waving his legs up in the air, his rustic simplicity, his creative fervour and his financial struggles are delineated with loving care. Having started his career in Urdu, Premchand switched over to Hindi in order to reach a larger audience because he was a highly purposive artist who had a message to deliver.

Premchand differed from the great novelists of Bengal, Tagore and Sarat Babu whose work he charged with being feminine in tone and feeling while he cared more for masculine hardness. Though he recognised their greatness, Premchand felt that it was not the way which Hindi literature should follow. In his novels and short-stories Premchand presented pictures of grim realities with a reformist zeal to make this world a better place to live in. There is little poetry in his vision. “Gentlemen fond of wandering among hills will be greatly disappointed here” said Premchand about himself. But it was he who imparted a new social awareness and a sense of purpose to Hindi novels. He felt that plots of stories shall be drawn from life and solve its problems. Truthful presentation of life was his beau ideal. Though wrote about a dozen novels, Godan  represented the climax towards which his literary career steadily progressed. His distinction between literature and cinema is worth remembering. “Literature directs popular taste, does not follow behind it. The cinema follows it. It gives whatever is demanded by it. Literature moves our aesthetic sensibilities and gives us joy. The cinema moves vulgar feelings and renders us crazy.” Coming as it does from one who has burnt his fingers in the field of script-writing the passage deserves attention. This well-written book does great service to non-Hindi readers by introducing them to Premchand, the simple unassuming man and his realistic literary achievement pleading for social reform and a better deal for the under-dog.
–DR. C. N. SASTRY

TELUGU

Jaataka Kathalu-Vol. IV: Translated from original Paali by Swami Sivasankara Sastry. Published by A. P. Sahitya Akademy, Hyderabad-4. 356 pages. Price Rs. 6-50.

The oldest and simple form of creative expression, the story has originated in India. And the Buddhist Jaataka is the great source book of a lot of ancient story literature. The Pancha Tantra of India and the Kalilag and Damanag literature as well as Aesop’s Fables of Middle-East and European languages owe a great deal to the Jaataka stories. Lord Buddha, Max Mueller pointed out, is canonised and worshipped as St. Josaphat (corrupt form of Bodhisat) among Catholics.

These Jaataka stories have been a part of the Buddhist canonical literature since 300 B. C. According to Dipa Vamsa tradition they form the seventh of the nine constituents (angas) of Buddhist scriptures. Sumanga Vilasini, Anguttara Nikaya, Saddharma Pundarika (Skt.) refer to the Jaataka. Also scholars say that even early Buddhist scriptures contain similar stories but without any character being identified with Buddha; that Ceriya Pitaka of Paali Pitakas contain real Jaataka stories; that Buddha Vamsa refers to a theory of Jaataka. Bas-reliefs found at Amaravati, Sanchi and similar ones at Barhut with the title of Jaataka inscribed testify to their sacredness as early as 300 B. C. And they form the complete collection of the ancient folk-lore extent. These stories emphasise the transmigration of character (not the Soul) and also the essential likeness of man and animal. The authorship of these stories is not known and a suggestion ascribing them to Buddhaghosha has been rejected. There are many recensions of these stories–the Ceylonese, the Burmese, the Siamese, etc.

Swamy Sivasankara Sastry, a doyen of modern Telugu literateurs and poets, has done a signal service to Andhras by rendering the Jaataka stories in Telugu from original Paali version edited by Prof. Vincent Fausboll of Denmark.

Scholars say that some of the Jaataka stories have been absorbed into Mahabharata. The volume under review contains in their Buddhist form the well-known and interesting stories of the Wolf and the Lamb, Mandavya and Krishna Dwaipayana, Krishna Vasudeva (Mahabharata fame), Dasaratha (Ramayana) and Sarangadhara.

A readable volume in spite of occasional printing mistakes, the book needs a page of contents.
–PROF. SALVA KRISHNAMURTHI