Maala Palli

MAALA PALLI
(A Great Telugu Novel)

[Unnava Lakshminarayana, Bar-at-Law, one of the stalwarts of the freedom movement, was a distinguished writer. His novel “Maala Palli” is considered to be one of the great novels in Telugu. His birth centenary was celebrated this year in Andhra Pradesh.
–EDITOR]

Mahatma Gandhi was a rare one among politicians. Maala Palli is a rare book among novels. To Gandhi politics was not merely the art of the possible, but the striving after perfection. His programme of revolution was something unique: social reformation and political change to be simultaneously wrought by spiritual regeneration in the individual man. Because the Mahatma combined in himself the spiritual seeker and the political leader, the tension between politics and ethics, between social revolution and spiritual evolution was always present, which he tried to resolve from time to time, and which made him an enigma even to his close followers. He was never totally acceptable either to the social revolutionaries or to the spiritual seekers. The theme of the novel, Maala Palli similarly combines within itself both social conflict and spiritual quest. It is a novel of social realism as well as spiritual idealism. It has both range and depth. It presents successfully social perspective as well as spiritual insight, which is a rare combination to be found in a single novel. The only example that readily comes to mind is War and Peace, which presents the historico-social exterior along with the personal inwardness of individual characters.

Modern trends in Telugu literature since the beginning of this century may be categorized as (1) the rejection of tradition, (2) the nostalgic plea for the revival of tradition, or (3) the total adoption of Western ideological postures. The novel Maala Palli written about 1920 does not fit into any of the three categories. It reconciles the past with the present, takes into account the dynamic realism of life and postulates the bases for an indigenous revolution: social, political and personal, towards a future that is ever perfecting and not limited by any particular goal at a point of time.

In the context of the Indian Renaissance, itwas possible to adopt either of two diametrically opposite attitudes towards the Indian tradition. One view was that the Vedic tradition is decadent and dead with the neglect of Vedic rites, the decline of Sanskrit studies, and the denunciation of the caste system. The second view was that the basic elements of the Indian tradition, in spite of the vicissitudes of political life, continue to be renewed from age to age in the life of the people. The first view, to cite an example, was reflected in the nostalgia-dominated novel, Veyi Padagalu by Sri Viswanatha Satyanarayana. It is the second view that is reflected in Maala Palli. Sri Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao in his Foreword to Maala Palli makes a pointed reference to this aspect: “The Sanskrit scholarship yielded place to scholarship in the regional languages. The tenets of Vedanta formerly accessible through Sanskrit learning found their new expression in the stories and songs of the people. The Vedic ritualism transformed itself into Bhakti Vedanta. The ways of Ramanuja and Basaveswara illustrate this process, how the path of devotion gained ascendance in the lives of the common people. A devotee can belong to any caste. Bhakti is within the reach of all the castes without discrimination. The policies adopted by the Muslim kings, and later by the British rulers, though appeared antagonistic to the Indian tradition, in course of time promoted the growth and development of literatures in regional languages, as it happened in Telugu...The rulers changed, governments fell, religious schools came and went, but the life in the villages rooted in the basic Indian tradition continued in spite of political and social turmoil. It is this tradition that the novel Maala Palli portrays beautifully.”

The Gandhian movement against untouchability was a major step in our political and social revolution. The humanist and the social reformer denounce untouchability as inhuman and irrational. The politician recognises the significant group of social outcastes as a force to reckon with. To the Marxian point ofview, they represent the exploited working class, the obvious instrument of revolution. The Gandhian view is a comprehensive one, which embodies within itself the humanist, the reformist and the political viewpoints. Gandhi wanted the oppressed untouchables to be integrated into the main-stream of Indian society, and he wanted it to happen through peace, non-violence and charity. The privileges given to the Harijans in the Indian Constitution are an outcome of the Gandhian view, as interpreted by the political followers of Gandhi. However Sri Unnava Lakshminarayana, the author of Maala Palli, interprets the Gandhian view differently and perhaps more authentically, when he suggests by the choice of his characters, that Harijan uplift can ultimately come only through the self-efforts of the Harijans themselves, whatever might be the attitude of the privileged classes. Like freedom, equality cannot be conferred or gifted, and has to come by assertion. The Harijans have to play an active role. It is not enough for them to be at the receiving end of charity always. In the novel, the central character Ramadas is a Maaladaasari, a Vaishanava Harijan priest. His sons Sangadas and Venkatadas, represent the two faces of the Indian revolution. In Ramadas we have the source of spiritual energy and philosophic outlook. While in Sangadas we have a constitutional and open-handed leader. In Venkatadas, we have the rebel, who goes underground to seek justice. Ramadas is thus the Gandhi of the novel, Sangadas and Venkatadas representing the roles played by Nehru and Bose respectively in the Freedom Movement in later years. The novel is that way prophetic of the future of the National Movement. The main thrust of the novel is, however, not political; it is on the importance of the Harijans, their sufferings and the role to be played by them in the Indian revolution. This is still of great relevance, in 1979. While an ordinary novelist would have made a liberal Gandbian Brahmin the central figure of his novel, advocating a new deal to the untouchables, Sri Lakshminarayana places a Harijan right in the centre of his story as a great representative of the Indian tradition of tolerance, love and surrender to God, so that he has something to teach to the so-called superior castes.

The fight of Sangadas is not for the social rights of Harijans as a caste. He fights for human rights, and in particular for the rights of the working class. This is a significant aspect of the portrayal of the Harijan characters in the novel. Just as Gandhi’s goal was not merely political, social or national, but went beyond these limitations, embracing humanity and dharma in their universal aspect, even so the Harijan characters of Maala Palli aspire towards the larger goal of social justice as a first step towards the brotherhood of man.

The character of Ramadas is not a philosophical abstraction; nor is Sangadas an ideal hero. Their portrayal is a part and parcel of the social scene realistically drawn. In Ramadas love and detachment, tolerance and patient suffering, faith and devotion take precedence over comfort and luxury, revenge and retaliation, pride of family and scholarship. He has no urge to triumph over his adversaries. It is this which is sometimes called the fatalism of the Indian character. Ramadas in the novel, because of the aforesaid qualities of character and values of life, emerges as a hero worthy of reverence and admiration.

In the village of Mangalapuram, a conflict arises between the land-owners and their agricultural coolies. The economy has changed from barter to a money-based economy. The pinch of the change is on the working class. When the price of twelve measures of foodgrains was one rupee, the daily wage of a coolie was one-fourth of a rupee. The price of grain has gone up, and a wage-raise is demanded by the coolies. The land-owners refuse to raise the wage. The case of Sangadas is effectively put forth by Sangadas, who is employed as a clerk in the household of Chowdariah, a prominent land-owner of the village. Sangadas says: “Labour is the property of the coolie just as land is the property of the ryot, and hence the coolie has every right to bargain and demand a fair price for his labour. If a reasonable wage is paid, the worker will be healthy and strong and will offer more byway of service than will be the case if he is enfeebled by starvation.” Sangadas’ arguments cut no ice with Chowdariah, and Sangadas advises the coolies to unite to fight for their just demands. Chowdariah is infuriated and the upshot is that Sangadas dies when Chowdariah hits him in a fit of anger. This situation in a Marxist novel would have the well-known Marxian implications. But in Sri Lakshminarayana’s novel, the situation has several overtones and is brought out with all the complexity of a truly human situation, capable of being interpreted in different ways. Sangadas, when he takes up the cause of the coolies, almost prophetically says: “The triumph of dharma requires sacrifice. Socrates and Christ are examples. Without sacrifice there is no yajna. The animal to be sacrificed is the selfishness in man...In the struggle for dharma, those who resist dharma and those who fight for it, have no separate individualities. And the individual’s success or failure doesn’t matter to the ultimate triumph of dharma.” The novelist through these comments seeks to raise individuals to the status of representatives of the elemental forces in conflict. However, he does not reduce the portrayal of the individual characters to mere abstractions or sketches. They are drawn in the round. This is the great artistic merit of the novel, that in relation to the thematic movement characters do not become setches but retain their roundness. In the situation, wherein Chowdariah kills Sangadas with a blow, Chowdariah has no personal dislike towards Sangadas. It is a moment of aberration and terrible anger. The provocation is not merely Sangadas’ support to the coolies’ cause. Sangadas by his excellent qualities and enlightened views has enchanted Chowdariah’s only son, Rama Naidu. Chowdariah is possessive and is unconsciously jealous of Rama Naidu’s attachment to Sangadas. This factor is also brought into play, and lends psychological depth to the incident, which is a turning point in the novel.

Ramadas has the opportunity to retaliate, but decides to forgive Chowdariah. This is taken advantage of by Chowdariah and his advisers, who suppress the criminal case by paying off the police. It also emboldens them to initiate steps to drive out Ramadas and his family from the village, depriving him of his land-holding and other possessions. It is guilt and arrogance which combine in Chowdariah and egg him on to persecute Ramadas’ family to get them out of sight and to ensure his safety from criminal proceedings forever. When Chowdariah takes to deliberate persecution, something happens, which leads to the disintegration of his own family and the destruction of what he holds as dear and precious. Chowdariah’s daughter-in-law, Kamala (Rama Naidu’s wife) elopes with one Mohan Rao to the city being bored with village life. The connection between Chowdariah’s deliberate injustice to Ramadas and the blow he receives to his own family life is not apparent on the surface. But the connection does exist. Chowdariah is very much attached to his grandson, Sahu, and when Kamala deserts the home, the child pines away and finally dies. The elopement of the daughter-in-law occurs because of her being neglected by her husband who is drawn away into social work by the influence of Sangadas. If Sangadas were alive, wouldn’t Chowdariah’s daughter-in-law have eloped, is a moot question. This is where the hand of divine justice is seen. In this intricate pattern of human relationships, the novelist subtly works out his theme of crime and punishment. With the death of his grandson, Chowdariah ultimately loses what he values as the most precious thing in his life.

Emotional attachments have to be shed for spiritual progress and ultimate liberation. While the destruction of such an attachment in the case of Chowdariah comes as a punishment, in the case of Ramadas, it comes as an onward step in his spiritual journey. In the first pages of the novel, we see Ramadas is self-satisfied because of his possessions, and proud because of his two sons, though he is a humble devotee of God and is always in search of enlightenment. He reflects: “How can one make the worldly life a stepping-stone to the life of the spirit? For one could use it as a ladder to heaven or hell. The three human motivations-attachment to wife, attachment to sons and attachment to possessions–should be used as stepping-stones to the liberation of the spirit.” These thoughts of Ramadas at the beginning become an index to his spiritual progress as events follow one another. After Sangadas’ death and Venkatadas’ disappearance, he is deprived of all his possessions. He is jailed; his nephew and daughter die a violent death; then his wife passes, and finally he is subjected to utmost humiliation by his jailer. At the last instance, the jail warder orders Ramadas to strip and stand naked. He is not satisfied when Ramadas covers his shame with his hands, and commands him to lift up his hands. Ramadas says to himself: “Oh, God, this last vestige of self-love is now gone. What You did to Draupadi and the Gopis, You have done to me and now You have taken me finally into Your hands!” This is the ultimate in egoless surrender, indicated by the novelist, in the spiritual quest of Ramadas.

Gandhi’s attitude to marriage was characterized by severe restraint and he laid down that marriage was only for the performance of dharma, and with the birth of children, sex should be given up so that brahmacharyamay be observed for spiritual progress. In this respect, Sri Lakshminaryaoa takes a different view, which is as much deep-rooted in the Indian tradition as Gandhi’s. Gandhi could never conceive of the sublimation or transformation of sexual love into the love of God. He once remarked: “Every college girl wishes to be a Juliet at least to half-a-dozen Romeos!” This was his appraisal of romantic love. The Indian Renaissance as well as the new literature in Indian languages was greatly influenced by the romantic movement from the West. As a result, the attitude to woman underwent a sea-change through the concept of romantic love. Gandhi never considered this seriously. Sri Lakshminarayana was a student of the Bhagavata Purana and perhaps loved it better than the Ramayana. In the novel he remarks: “Rama lived as a man. He never knew he was God till he was told so. Even then he was not aware of it always. Rama is expected to serve as an example to a householder; but the Krishna of the Bhagavata is God Himself. His love transcends the social and ethical restrictions. He is the principle of love, which sustains all creation.” Here love and dharma merge into one, and dharma is seen not merely as restriction. Further the novelist makes Appadas, the nephew of Ramadas, tell Jyoti, his cousin, with whom he is romantically in love – “When you make a distinction between the supra-human and the human, you make a distinction between the mind and the body. Indeed love knows no distinctions of this kind. When love is sacred, it brings about the unity of all experience...The distinction between mind and body is itself born of ignorance.” Jyoti says to Appadas: “When we played together as children, I loved you. When I studied books with you, you were an embodiment of knowledge to me. You are now my beloved Krishna. Yet, you have always been the same person. I do not know why I love you so much. I cannot say whether this is physical or mental. Whenever I think of you and whenever you are with me, I am in bliss both in mind and body.” Jyoti and Appadas die like Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers. But the romantic love of Jyoti and Appadas has all the depth of the Indian spiritual and cultural tradition behind it, not a borrowed thing from the Western ideal. The final comment of the novelist on this is: “There is a centre somewhere for the entire universe. Every and every creature is held by that centre. Creation in its diverse expression has apparently millions of independent centres. But all these individual centres can experience unity when they attune themselves to the universal centre. When all the Gopis loved Krishna, they were individually drawn to the one universal centre. In Him we are ill one and that is the essence of love.”  

The novelist considers the tragic death of Jyoti and Appadas united in love as their spiritual liberation. The reconciliation of sexual and human love with the devotional love of God, which the novelist proposes in Maala Palli, makes him a more acceptable interpreter of the Hindu Advaitic tradition than Gandhi ever was, from the modern point of view.

But Sri Lakshminarayana is careful enough, as a great artist, to distinguish in the novel itself between what is merely love and the sexual love, which is a component of the ultimate principle of love, by providing a clear contrast in the elopement of Kamala with Mohan Rao, and the retribution that follows.

Maala Palli is a great novel because it depicts Indian men and women not only as individuals but also as social representatives of a particular place and time, and above all as cultural representatives of the timeless spirit of Indian Vedanta. In the last lines of the novel, the author exhorts: “Jnana and Karma may not be necessary, but one’s attunement with God, through love and surrender to Him, is necessary. Indeed it alone is enough to attain liberation. For love and surrender to Him to be accomplished, one has to shed one’s pride; pride of caste, birth, education, learning, wealth, etc. Egoistic pride is the stumbling block for all the privileged members of society. The outcastes are the really privileged in this respect, as they have nothing to sustain their egos. They are near to God. They are Harijans.”