Picaro Hits Back: Bhabani Bhattacharya’s He Who

Picaro Hits : Bhabani Bhattacharya’s
“He Who Rides a Tiger”

Dr. A. Sreedevi
Dr. A. Venkanna

He Who Rides a Tiger (1954), Bhabhani Bhattacharya’s most famous novel has always been regarded by the critics as a novel that treated the themes of the Bengal famine, the Quit India Movement, and the evil practice of caste system in India. For instance, G. Rai says, “He Who Rides a Tiger presents a true picture of Indian society before Independence. The Bengal famine and the Quit India Movement are the inspiring sources behind the novel.” But more than employing the themes that many critics have discussed, Bhabhani Bhattacharya seems to have written about a hero who has clearly identifiable picaresque traits. Kalo, the protagonist shifts one role to another and proves to be a true picaro.

Picaresque tradition in literature has been employed mostly to portray the evil practices in society and the result of such social system is that it produces men and women who cease to care for the ethics of the society and these men and women become picaros in order to find an easy way of earning a living.

Picaresque tradition in the European fiction portrays a society which had undergone significant changes in terms of organization. Picaresque novels, written against the drop of the conflicting social forces, involved the confrontation between the isolated individual and a hostile society. Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders is a famous picaresque novel in European literature. It depicts the life of a ‘low class’ girl who shifts from one role to another in order to make it big. Defoe was one of the first to be interested in the lives of the lower classes through his writings, Defoe recognizes how fear and poverty drive men and women to anti-social activities like prostitution and crime.

Like Defoe Bhattacharya also understands the evil of social practices and brings out the problems faced by the under privileged people. He once remarked. “I hold that a novel must have a social purpose. It must place before the reader something from the society’s point of view. Art is not necessarily for art’s sake. Purposeless art and literature which is much in vogue does not appear to me a sound judgement.” Thus, it is clear that Bhattacharya’s works are the records of ambitious struggle of the people, victimized by an evil social order. He portrays the horrors of an anachronistic mode of life that suppressed the lower sections of society. He is one of the old generation writers who touch the depths of society to attack its evil practice. His protagonists are mainly peasants and the other downtrodden people who have the ability to struggle against the world.

Bhattacharya’s He Who Rides a Tiger is the story of a blacksmith. Kalo is physically a strong man but poor in economic terms and belongs to a lower caste. Bhattacharya portrays Kalo as a picaro. Along with his daughter, he suffers not only in a political and economic system, but also against an established social order, which labels men superior or inferior by the sheer chance of their birth in a certain caste. The result is Kalo and his daughter lead a miserable life in Jharna town. Added to this kind of existence, another shadow of disaster falls on them in the form of a great famine. The poverty and misery produced by the famine soon engulf the people and destitution prevails all over the town. Both father and daughter separate in order to reach the town to find a living. In Calcutta Kalo undergoes many hard experiences. He suffers for a single meal, steals a bunch of bananas and for this act ends up in jail. But after his release from jail he is not the same old innocent Kalo. Like Moll in Moll Flanders who disguises herself as a poor widow in order to steal and make money, Kalo too disguises himself as a Brahmin. He pretends to be a priest and enjoys all the pleasures and benefits of his, new role. Kalo has become a picaresque hero out of sheer necessity and the urge for revenge. He uses all his wits and tricks to acquire money and social status very much like Moll in Moll Flanders. But a time comes to him when he has to reveal his true self. When Chandralekha’s life is at stake, Kalo makes a speech revealing his true story to the gathered mob at the temple. He tells the assembly that he is not a Brahmin and that the temple is not a true temple. He graphically describes how he had indulged in fraud to cause Shiva’s image to rise from the ground. The audiences show diverse reaction to Kalo’ s confession. The high caste Brahmins want to beat him while others suggest legal action. But a large number of destitute men of the lower castes are happy that one of their own stock could successfully hoodwink the so-­called superior lot in society.

Bhattacharya’s novels are invariably filled with human concern. In spite of their unmistakable resemblance to one another in certain respects, the author lends them divergent dimensions. Every character in his works fights for liberty. He Who Rides a Tiger is, however, different from his other novels. Kalo’s struggle against poverty and caste restrictions is basically a personal survival strategy on his part and his daughter’s behalf. He overcomes his hurdles not as part of political strategy but by resorting to picaresque tactics. Therefore, it can be concluded that, Bhabhani Bhattacharya’s He Who Rides a Tiger is a true picaresque novel meriting comparison with Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders and Lazarillo de Alfarache.