Child-Brides in R. K. Narayan’s Fiction

R. K. Narayan, in most of his novels, presents the social milieu of his times. Although he was not a crusader for the abolition of child marriages and of widow-remarriages, he does condemn child marriages that were in vogue in our country. Child marriages were one of the several social evils that prevailed in India till the beginning of the nineteenth century. Owing to the tireless efforts of social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Iswar Chandra Vidya Sagar, Kandukuri Veeresalingam and Gandhiji, this social evil was controlled, if not eradicated from the Indian soil. It is interesting to note that Gandhiji too admitted that his marriage was a child marriage and he looked upon his wife as a playmate. R. K. Narayan, through his fiction, draws our pointed attention to the social conditions and superstitions that existed during his period.

Narayan, in his novels ‘The Bachelor of Arts’, ‘The Painter of Signs’, ‘The World of Nagaraj’ and ‘The Grand Mother’s Tale’ vividly portrays the plight and predicament of child-brides in India. Most of the brides in his fiction are under sixteen and Bala, the protagonist in ‘The Grand Mother’s Tale’, is perhaps the youngest of them all. She is just seven when she is married and Viswa, the groom is ten!

Bala’s father, one fine day, suddenly announces that her wedding is fixed for the next week. Young Bala is playing with her friends in the street at that time and she innocently asks him, “Why?” He does not reply. Her friends tease her and she gets irritated. She goes to her mother and declares that she does not want to marry. The mother convinces her saying that she has reached marriageable age. Bala, being only seven years old, does not quite understand what marriage is.

However, according to the existing social customs of those days, parents believed that a girl should get married before she attained puberty. Bala is no exception to this. She is neither physically nor mentally prepared for a wedding. But the parents did not take these things into consideration when they performed the marriage of the girl child. In the initial days of marriage, Bala is a totally confused bride. She is too shy and timid to even look at the groom. The Grand Mother’s Tale is the story of Narayan’s great grand mother, Bala, who lived during the pre independent era. The novel has an autobiographical note in it. Narayan writes about Bala’s wedding.

“She was just seven when she was married, her husband being just ten years old. Those were the days of child marriages, generally speaking.”

The same kind of situation is presented by Narayan in ‘The Bachelor of Arts’. This condition prevailed even in 1937 when he published this novel. Chandran’s mother expresses her displeasure when she comes to know that the would-be-bride is sixteen. She admonishes her son.

“Sixteen!” mother screamed, “They can’t be all right if they have kept the girl unmarried till sixteen. She must have attained puberty ages ago. They can’t be all right. We have a face to keep in this town. Do you think it is all child’s play?”

These words show that it was a social stigma if the parents kept the girl child at home beyond the age of ten or eleven. They were criticized by their relatives and neighbours if a girl was not married off before she reached puberty. Narayan presented this social scenario in his fiction to mirror the contemporary social conditions of our country.

Marriage is the most important thing in the life of a girl. Ironically, no one bothered to discuss this crucial issue with the girl child. She was neither consulted nor was given any choice. However, R. K. Narayan’s child-brides openly discuss their predicament and act as his mouth-pieces to reflect his social awareness. Daisy in ‘The Painter of Signs’ narrates her bridal interview thus,

“Although I was only thirteen, I had my own notions of what was good for me and what I should do in life.”

From Daisy’s words, we understand that she too was in her early teens when she faced her bridal interview. Teenage is no age for marriage!

A child-bride will not have the psychological maturity to understand the requirements and demands of a marriage. Yet, the tradition-oriented and custom-bound Indian orthodox society has laid this condition on her and made it a painful ritual to be followed scrupulously by all parents.

Nagaraj, in ‘The World of Nagaraj’ becomes nostalgic as he remembers quite vividly the day of his bride-inspection. His wife, Sita, was a timid little creature when he married her, says the author. He adds,

“When he went to approve his bride at their house in Sullivan street, she looked so small and helpless. At first he was discouraged. He was under twenty and she was fourteen and looked as if she had just come out of the nursery school. Her personality had not yet developed.”

R. K. Narayana’s bride, Rajam, too was hardly twenty when he married her. It is pathetic to note the plight of a small girl, who is underdeveloped, yet has to undergo the rigours and responsibilities of a marriage. Her physical growth and mental development are not taken into consideration at all. Narayan presents this scenario in his works to mirror the Indian social conditions. It shows his social consciousness, reformist zeal and deep concern for the Indian child-brides. His sympathies were certainly with the girl child and this is evident in his works.

Ironically, we observe that, this condition still exists in India even in this new millennium. Recently Ms. Shakuntala Verma, an anganwadi worker from Dhar district, was attacked and grievously injured by a youth on May 10, 2005, for her attempts to stop child marriages. She was campaigning against child marriages. Her arms were chopped and slashed as she went to a village to ask a villager to give up the idea of marrying off his minor daughters. This gruesome incident which happened in our country, in the 21st century, shocked the entire nation. It drew the attention of the print and electronic media and everyone condemned this brutal attack. The Women’s Organisations raised their voices requesting the Government to be sensitive to the issue of atrocities against women.

Although we proudly declare that social evils are eradicated from our country, child marriages are still being performed in some parts of India even today. It is time to give a serious thought to the problem and put a stop to this social evil.