Mapping the politics of a passage to India

Existentialist philosopher JeanPaul Sartrersquos famous remarkmdashavoiding politics doesnrsquot avoid the consequences of politicsmdashapplies perfectly to EM Forsterrsquos A Passage to India the novel published 100 years agoA newlylaunched commemorative volume titled 100 Years of A Passage to India International Assessments Orient BlackSwan carries an exploratory essay about the political tensions left unresolved by Forster in his bid to offer a false poetic harmonious end to the vital piece of literature Dr Harish Trivedirsquos concluding essay titled The Earth Said No the Sky Said No Poetry and Politics in A Passage to India brings forth Forsterrsquos ldquobarest acknowledgement of the prevailing political situation in Indiardquo especially the lack of mention of Mahatma Gandhi An illustration of EM Forster in a turban graces the cover of the 100 Years of A Passage to India International Assessments Orient BlackSwan IllustrationJyothsna PSTrivedi says politics lay thick on the ground all around Forster during both his visits to India In 1912 Forster stayed with two British novelists Sara Jeanette Duncan and Edmund Candler whose works were patently political By 1921 when Forster returned to India stayed in the princely town Devas as the private secretary to the Maharaja which birthed his 1953 work The Hill of Devi Mahatma Gandhirsquos noncooperation movement had captured Indian and British consciousness In 1924 Premchandrsquos Rangbhoomi was out with a clear Gandhian message against colonial oppressionAs Trivedi points out Forster provided the fuel and fire for a political novel but repeatedly maintained that A Passage to India was ldquonot a political tract but a novel about human beings which hopes here and there to attain the effect of poetryrdquo Forster loved India undoubtedly but he didnrsquot want to confront the imperialist basis on which the British justified colonising India Unlike his predecessor Rudyard Kipling who spoke of the white manrsquos burden and British rule as a natural order Forster spoke of the possibility of true friendship between his lead protagonists Dr Aziz and his friend Cyril Fielding British principal of a governmentrun college in Chandrapore However the novelrsquos climaxmdashthe Indian doctor arrested and tried for an alleged assault on a young Englishwoman Adelamdashoutlines the colonial power dynamicEM Forster File PicGetty ImagesThis columnist vividly recalls the tense courtroom scenes in David Leanrsquos 1984 film adaptation which marked the novelrsquos 60th anniversary Watching it at Metro just a month before studying it in my secondyear BA syllabus was a thrill A Passage to India has since become part of my personal journey in understanding EastWest conflicts Orient BlackSwanrsquos 100 Years of A Passage to India is a meaningful new stop along that journey This volumemdash15 scholarly essays edited by Dr Trivedimdashaffirms the novelrsquos nuanced portrayal of the relationship between India and England At a time when race colonial history identity morality sexual mores and gender justice are being widely discussed in India the book offers a timely reexploration India was not even a nation when Forster wrote the novel today it stands firm on the world stage despite the contradictions that both the novel and Forsterrsquos worldview so keenly highlightDespite the incongruities editor Trivedi finds the novel an exemplary work of art He finds it relevant today 100 years on for encompassing issues of race gender even rape religious misunderstanding and hostility nationalism and also human understanding and friendship ldquoNo Western writer has ever written a better novel about Indiardquo he asserts Trivedi former Professor of English in the University of Delhi is also the author of Colonial Transactions English Literature and India100 Years of A Passage to India is a painstakingly thorough project following Orient BlackSwanrsquos first in the series on T S Eliotrsquos The Wasteland Indian Responses The new volume includes every possible aspect of the novel beginning with Forsterrsquos own doubts as revealed in the multiple revisions of the manuscript about the denouement as well as the instant acclaim The Passage to India received in England Forster jokingly attributed the record sales in the US to the American readersrsquo pleasure in reading about the troubles of the British with their empire in India The novel ldquoaroused partisan passionsrdquo on the British and Indian sides The British who served in India pointed to an unfair portrayal Indian students in England disliked the depiction of Dr Aziz especially some of his sexist comments on Adela much before the mysterious episode in the Marabar caves Indians felt Azizrsquos remarks on Adelarsquos lack of femininity is an awkward articulation of his resentment towards the British standards of superiority Also the three sections of the novelmdashMosque Caves Templemdashwere viewed as stereotypical for someone who comprehended India beyond cliches Many readers till date express wonder over Adelarsquos sexual fantasy of having been assaulted by Aziz They donrsquot find it consistent with her characterTrivedi interprets the caves segment as an expression of Forsterrsquos repressed desires shaped by his experiences as a closeted homosexual Forsterrsquos love for Indian Muslim scholar Syed Ross Masood on whose life is Dr Aziz modelled was complexThe perspectives of 15 academics literary experts translators and humanities scholars enrich the volume thanks to Dr Trivedi who brought together the band of ldquofriends with Forsterian inclinationsrdquo While Madhu Singh analyses two stage adaptations of the text Ruth Vanita treats it as a Vedantic novel Rukmini Bhaya Nair interprets the caves episode as Forsterrsquos worry of the looming ecological crises associated with imperialism However she clearly overestimates Forsteras the ldquoprophet of the Age of Anthropocenerdquo There is little evidence to establish Forsterrsquos planetrelated worriesRupert Snell Professor Emeritus in the Department of Asian Studies University of Texas Austin commissioned six celebrated bilingual writers to translate the novelrsquos first paragraph in Hindi The academic exercise forms the basis of his essay ldquoOn Translating A Passage Into Hindirdquo which enlivens Forsterrsquos Chandrapore in myriad ways Snell arranges the Hindi translation samples sequentially for the readerrsquos evaluation Each writer crafts a distinct Hindi title offering a personal interpretation of A Passage to India In Forsterrsquos time lsquopassagersquo was a common term for overseas travel much like lsquoflightrsquo is today So Hindi titles delightfully vary in the essaymdashRohini Chowdhury and Rakesh Pandey choose Bhrat Ki Or Gopalkrishna Gandhi arrives at KoocheHind Sara Rai terms it Bharat Tak Ka Rasta The Hindi translators reveal their own personalities while taking on Forsterrsquos 238 opening wordsThe new volume recounts the story of the novelrsquos French translation by Charles Mauron who became Forsterrsquos lifelong friend The novelrsquos Polish avatar comes with an intriguing storymdashtranslator Helena Myslakowska proposed marriage to Forster and landed in England Although he cherished the friendship Forster turned down the proposalMany assert that A Passage to India could have been a subtler portrait of everyday India during British Raj some of its characters could have been rounder andthe narratorrsquos voice firmer in the disapproval of colonial control Yet few novels are recalled the way this one is Thatrsquos because not all bestselling texts transcend literary geographical cultural temporal philosophical and political boundariesSumedha RaikarMhatre is a culture columnist in search of the subtext You can reach her at sumedharaikarmiddaycom