Dusty Distance (Suniti Namjoshi)

 Introduction: “The Blue Donkey” by Suniti Namjoshi consists of more than seventy small fables and poems. All these prose and poetic pieces are satires which criticise the contemporary society. Written in comic tone, the prose and poetic pieces have animals and birds as their characters but in reality, they are human beings who behave like animals. The title character, “Blue Donkey” was gay and happy when it was young but later it turned into grey like other donkeys, because it experienced cut throat competitions in the world for its survival. In the short fable, “Dusty Distance” the Blue Donkey goes from one place to another to find its fortune as a poet. But she realizes that it is not easy to make career as a poet and so it settles down for a part-time job for half a carrot.

Blue Donkey’s First Encounter: When the Blue Donkey is young, she likes to become a poet. So, she sets off on a long dusty road to make her fortune. Soon she meets a woman who offers her job for a carrot. But the Blue Donkey who she strongly believes that her life lies on her poet career denies the woman’s offer and travels further to find her poetic career.

The Blue Donkey’s Second Encounter:

The Blue Donkey then accidently meets a wayfarer. In curiosity, she asks the man about his profession. He says that he has no profession but he is interested in encountering ‘life’. So, the Blue Donkey asks him what he will do, if he finds ‘life’. He answers that if he finds ‘life’, he will grapple her, tie her hands and feet and then take her to his home. Hearing the man’s account the Blue Donkey is enthralled. So, she further asks him about his plan with ‘life’ and the man answers that he will chop up, grin down and put her into delicate mince pies and sell them in the market. Understanding his intention from his answer, the Blue Donkey escapes from him by saying that she is only a poet and not a ‘life’.

The Blue Donkey’s Third Encounter:

The Blue Donkey travels further and then enters into a countryside which is full of greenery. There, the Blue Donkey meets a Beautiful Lady who gracefully reclines on a tree. She asks the lady what she is doing and the lady answers that she is reading poetry because she is fond of poems, for they blow fresh air into life. Hence the Blue Donkey is very much pleased to introduce herself as a ‘poet’ to the lady. She also asks the lady to read some of the poems from the book. But the lady says that she knows only French and German and not the language of “Blue Donkese”. The answer of the lady has a lot of implication in it. The Blue Donkey understands that its language is alien to human beings. So, she goes back to the lady whom she first encountered to accept the job for just half a carrot. Like this, being a diasporic Indian, in the western country, Suniti Namjoshi finds it difficult to promote her writing. Like Namjoshi, the Third World writers find it difficult to establish their career as writers in the First World. In the First World, the postcolonial writers are treated as “others” due to the racial differences.

Conclusion:

Like the Blue Donkey, many of the writers from the Third World countries experience unwelcoming reception in the First World countries. Hence it is difficult for them to establish themselves as writers and like the Blue Donkey, they are ready accept any odd job for their survival.

 

The Gold Frame (R.K. Laxman)

Introduction: The story, “The Gold Frame” like most of R.K. Laxman’s earlier works, deals with the topics of false prestige in a frank and humorous manner. The author tells the story of Datta, a framer who splatters paint over a photograph of an elderly and respected gentleman that a customer requested it to frame. After destroying the client’s photograph, Datta fabricates a scheme in which he would deceive the customer by using another photograph. Datta is not only deceitful, but also dishonest in not taking full responsibility for his acts.

Datta: The Modern Frame Works was a big wooden packing case sandwiched between two other stores. The plot revolves around Datta, the owner of the Modern Frame Works. He was a slender man with silver-rimmed glasses and a complexion like seasoned wood. He was a quiet, diligent individual. He kept to himself and avoided casual friends and meaningless conversation.

The Unintentional Splashing: One day, Datta was approached by a customer who wished to have an old photograph framed in the finest possible way. He admires, respects, and praises the elderly guy, leading one to assume that the man in the image was a perfect human being. Then Datta steps in to guide the client in choosing the right frame. He picks a cut mount for his picture with Datta’s assistance. The buyer speaks as though framing the portrait is his life’s goal, and so he is ready to pay the amount that Datta demands. Finally, he leaves after settling the fee and the date of delivery.

Generally, Datta’s customers arrived either days in advance, dissatisfied, or returned months later. Some never showed up at all, and their photographs were left in a box unclaimed. Datta would not start working till his customers arrived twice before the delivery date. After 10 days, his tall and rustic-looking client showed up to inspect the progress. When Datta saw his client was interested in the frame, he pulled it out and tried to frame it. Just then, Datta splashed enamel paint over the customer’s treasured portrait by mistake. He attempted to remove the blotch with a piece of cloth, but it started to rip away.

Humour from the Tragedy: Datta was terrified about the repercussions. Datta considered various options, such as framing another image. Fortunately, he met one with whom he could take a reasonable risk. Datta, perplexed, frames a square frame while the buyer ordered an oval frame. This somehow saves Datta. He also gets saved because the customer questions the frame rather than the photograph itself. This generates amusement.

Datta’s ingenuity is revealed in this narrative by R.K. Laxman. The customer is portrayed as an idiot by R.K .Laxman. The customer accepts the price, even if he believes it is unreasonable. The customer’s ignorance, rather than Datta’s own experience or intelligence, saves him. 

Conclusion: The storyline implies that Datta has still been caught out despite his lie. The reader is bound to believe that R.K. Laxman is emphasizing the value of honesty. The story is ironical that the customer has found a minor fault instead of a major fault. He did not find the fake photograph and Datta gets a narrow escape. Thus, the story ends in a twist full of humour.

Money Madness (D.H. Lawrence)

 Introduction: The intriguing and insightful poem "Money Madness" by D.H. Lawrence explores the complexity and negative aspects of a fixation with money. Lawrence, in this poem examines materialism, greed, and the negative implications of placing material worth above all else in life.

Man’s Craziness: D.H. Lawrence's 'Money Madness' is a strong case against money's weakness. Lawrence begins the poem by stating that money craziness is a shared experience. He establishes the fact that money madness is widespread and rampant. However, Lawrence is quick to point out that just because the craziness is widespread, money-madness of an individual cannot be justified. Because communal craziness is only conceivable after individual crazy exists. As a result, the poet emphasizes that money-madness is a worldwide phenomenon. If the entire universe is insane, then every single person is insane as well.

Power of Money: He bemoans the fact that individuals are so frightened of losing their money if they give it generously. We are heartbroken if we lose even one pound. People shiver with fear and despair when they are given a quantity of money as large as ten pounds. We have become imprisoned by the shackles of financial power. It causes us to bow down and adore it. It has the ability to affect our ideas and actions.

Effect of  Money: Society terrifies the poet. When a guy is obsessed by money, he loses sight of what is truly essential in life. Financial difficulties are source of anxiety. Often, a man's wealth is used to evaluate him. Man makes others eat dirt in order to amass wealth. If man holds more money, he makes others eat dirt or beg for bread. But it is insane to place such a high value on something that may be lost in the blink of an eye. The more money you have, the more difficult it is to give it away. Money gives stress to a person, therefore man cowers before the money not before god.

Lawrence’s Suggestions: Lawrence thinks that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, has the right to food, shelter, warmth, and freedom. But we shall continue to be puppets in the hands of money. Eventually, the entire planet will be consumed by hostility, hatred, jealousy, and insanity. It will continue to wreak havoc on people's lives. So, the society should ensure about the basic needs such as food, and shelter to everyone on this earth. Otherwise, financial catastrophe would take away the lives of men and the earth may turn into place where no man would be found. Hence Lawrence thinks that it is right time for him to give awareness to people about the negative impacts of money in men’s lives.  

Conclusion: “Money Madness” is a biting critique of today's consumerist society, which is centred on material prosperity and money. People nowadays are so consumed by the drive to amass wealth by staking morality. So, he advises people to get out from the condition of money-madness and to become sane and rational.

Art of Memory (A.K. Ramanujan)

About the Author: A.K. Ramanujan (1929-93) was a poet, folklorist, critic, translator, and cultural historian. His poems reflect his traditional Hindu upbringing as well as the experiences that he encountered in a Western culture. His poems are poetic sketches with inherent comments on people and situations.

Introduction: In the essay, “Art of Memory”, A.K. Ramanujan describes how ‘arts of memory’ are closely connected with the ancient classical and oral traditions. He wonders at our forefathers who were able to recite “Vedas” and “ragas” by-heart. It means that many of our narratives of ancient period had multiple functions and they triggered the memory part of the brain of our ancestors. But, according to Ramanujan, amnesia or ‘Apasmara” is a curse on mankind. So, he recommends ‘meditation’ – ‘an exercise to recall’ to keep everything in one’s memory.

Multiple Memories: One’s remarkable feat of memory can be assessed based on his ability to remember many things at a time. For example, if one is “Astavadhani” then he can do eight different tasks simultaneously and if one is “Satavadhani”, then he can perform hundred different tasks simultaneously. This is possible if one should have “mindfulness and memory.” Such “art of memory” was part of our ancient classical and oral traditions. In ancient time, “Vedas” were orally transmitted from one generation to the next through the ‘art of memory’- exercise. Various gestures and bodily movements were also exerted by the reciters of “Vedas” which along with the phrases stored in the receivers’ motor memory.

Meditation: According to Ramanujan man can remember and recall even his previous birth, if he practises meditation. To justify his point of view, he gives many examples from our ancient texts. The enlightened sage like Buddha is said to be called “trikalanjani’ because he was able to see the past, present, and future in clear details. Hence, according to Ramanujan ‘remembering’ is not “a mere show off” but it was the means for “enlightenment or salvation”. Meditation can be done by ‘remembering and recalling’. For example, one must remember the happenings of the day, one by one, in reverse order and about the previous day, and about the week, and about the month and then about the year and so on. Such practice is called ‘exercise of recalling’ which is humanly possible. The concept of “Karma” given in the Hindu Buddhist and Jain texts say that one’s memories have a pattern called “Samskaras” or “Vasanas” which means the past deeds can be remembered and recalled in the present birth. Plato calls this process “anamnesis.” But many of us forget the “Vasanas” of the previous birth. So, we are alienated from our ‘self’ because our ‘self’ is largely constituted in our ‘memory’.

Apasmara: Madness or Apasmara is a misremember or a disorder of memory. Lord Siva stepped on a demon called Apasmara during his cosmic dance. This shows that one should overcome ‘apasmara’ for his salvation. However, Gods themselves fell preys to ‘apasmara’ or disorder of memory. For example, “Marchan” is the wonder tale found in “Kathasaritasagara” in which Indira Peterson points out that celestial beings were cursed to born as human beings through the act of ‘apasmara’ but later they returned to their original forms through ‘remembering’. One of the tales in “Kathasaritasagara”, states that the celestial beings were cursed by Goddess Parvati to born as geese, king and queen. But by performing meditation they could recall their previous birth and flew back to their heavenly abode.

Like this, when Lord Vishnu took the incarnation as a boar to save the earth goddess, he became the father of many piglets and remained in that state for many years. In fact, he forgot his godly position and so Siva released Vishnu from that incarnation by making him remember and recall his original godly status. In the same way, Lord Vishnu was released from all his avatars such as Rama, Krishnan and Balarama through meditation or remembering.

Conclusion: Thus, in this essay, Ramanujan highlights the ancient classical and oral traditions of India which enabled people to remember or mediate things in life. So, he recommends ‘mediation’ to overthrow ‘apasmara’ and to find out one’s ‘self’.