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Editor's Note and Acknowledgements VB
Bangalote Bhopal Bhubaneshwat Chandigath
Chennai Emakulam Guwahati Hyderabad Jaipur
PRITHVI DATTA CHANDRA SHOBHI
Kolkata Lucknow Mumbai New Delhi Pama
Introduction: Garuda in Search of Nectar-On the
www.orientblackswan.com
Narrative Imagination of D.R. Nagaraj 1
Copyright © 2012 GIRljA NAGARAJ AND AMULYA NAGARAJ
for all the material herein by D.R. Nagaraj
Part I: Kannada's Cultural Imagination
Copyright © 2012 PRITHVI DATTA CHANDRA SHOBHI
1 Critical Tensions in the History of Kannada
Literary Culture 31
ISBN 81-7824-330-X
2 The Creative Imagination of U.R. Ananthamurthy 121
3 Chandrashekar Kambara: The Playwright of
Comic Energy 163
4 The Comic Collapse ofAuthority: An Essay on the
Fears of the Public Spectator 170
5 The Forms of Kannada Nationalism 215
6 New Orality and Poetry 228
Part II: Politics and Violence
7 Beyond the Essentialist and Constructivist
Typeset in Agaramond
Paradigms: Notes on Indian Pluralism 237
by Guru Typograph Technology, Dwarka, New Delhi 110075
Printed and bound by Sapra Brothers, New Delhi 110092
Contents
VI
8 The Ethics and Aesthetics ofViolence 256
9 A Tibetan Dog, the Silent Sadhus, and the Peasants
of Champaran: Notes on Violence, Non-Violence,
Editorial Note
and Counter-Violence in Gandhi 271
and Acknowledgements
10 Anxious Hindu and Angry Farmer: Notes on the
Culture and Politics ofTwo Responses to
Globalization in India 284
11 The Tiger and the Magical Flute: Notes on
Minorities 308
D.R. Nagaraj (1954-1998) has been widely recognized as among
12 Spirituality and Social Action 315 India's most important thinkers in the broad area ofcultural politics.
The first volume ofD.R. Nagaraj's writings, published in 2010 by
13 Ashis Nandy: An Introduction 323
Permanent Black with the title The Flaming Feet and Other Essays,
Appendix A was a greatly expanded second edition of the only English book
AMULYA NAGARAJ Nagaraj published within his lifetime, The Flaming Feet (Bangalore:
List of D.R. Nagaraj's Writings 341 South Forum Press and ICRA, 1993). Publication ofthe expanded
second edition of that work had a specific objective: to include all
Appendix B
of Nagaraj's essays on the Dalit movement in India. The present
A Folk Story 344
second volume, Listening to the Loom, does not possess a similarly
singular thematic focus. The goal here has been to compile Nagaraj's
Select Bibliography 347
most important essays and, towards that end, his published as
well as unpublished English writings along with his Kannada works
Index 359
have been selected from. Part I comprises essays on Kannada's cul
tural experiences, Part II contains essays on politics and violence.
Together they number thirteen essays and conference present
ations-including two Kannada essays translated and made
available in English for the first time-which were mostly written
between 1993 and 1998. This, as I point out in my Introduction
below, is the period when Nagaraj emerged as a mature thinker
and produced some of his most important insights. The essays
EditoriaL Note and AcknowLedgements EditoriaL Note and AcknowLedgements IX
VIII
were all written for a variety of conferences and edited volumes. In another piece herein: Nagaraj's essay on Kannada cinema, 'The
spite of the fact that they were invited pieces, written for specific Comic Collapse ofAuthority: An Essay on the Fears of the Public
occasions, they capture many of Nagaraj's main intellectual and Spectator'.
political concerns as well as his methodological preferences. Nagaraj wrote extensively in Kannada, and it would require a
The title of this book, Listening to the Loom, derives from a great deal of effort to translate and present his full oeuvre in Eng
story that U.R. Ananthamurthy often recounts. Once, when Naga lish. My more limited goal here has been dictated in part by the
raj and he were at a writers' meet in Kathmandu, they went for an need to find essays of interest to readers of English. To this end
evening walk during which Nagaraj suddenly stopped and asked I focused on Nagaraj's more recent essay collections, Sahitya
his companion to listento thesoundofaloom-there were weavers Kathana (I996) and Samskriti Kathana (published posthum
nearby, with whom they had a chat. Ananthamurthy recalls saying ously in 2001). Most of the essays in these books were written
to Nagaraj that so long as he, Nagaraj, retained the ability to hear primarily for a Kannada audience and do not lend themselves
.the sound ofa loom, he would not become a 'Non-Resident Indian' to translation. They were also relatively short and, while rich in
intellectual. In the present volume, Nagaraj's ear for the sound interesting analysis and insight, would have had to be extensively
rewritten in order to be presented in English. Nagaraj himself was
and sense of things Indian is very apparent.
If there is unevenness in the editing, it's a reflection of the dif aware of this and confessed as much to me when Ashis Nandy
ferent volumes to which these essays were contributed. In parti urged him to render Sahitya Kathana into English. So, the only
cular, the first essay here, 'Critical Tensions in the History of argument for including more Kannada essays in the present volume
Kannada Literary Culture' (from Literary CuLtures in History would have been to provide a perspective on the functioning of
edited by Sheldon Pollock), had to be considerably shortened even Kannada intellectual culture; for the purposes ofthis volume, that
before its original appearance because Nagaraj had, before his tragi was not a compelling reason. Of the two Kannada essays that I
cally early death, left behind a long and only reasonably finished decided to translate, the essay on Kannada nationalism helps us
manuscript that, for the purposes of publication, had to be made understand the nature oflanguage politics, while the second speaks
half its existing size. He had also earlier composed three different of the nature of new orality in the age of electronic media and its
versions ofthe essay. So, between 2000 and 2003-when Pollock's impact on poetry. Both are remarkable examples of Nagaraj's pers
Literary CuLtures in History was ultimately published-this essay picacity and sharp analysis of changes in contemporary culture.
was revised several times by many people, including myself. If As in The FLaming Feet and Other Essays, when editing and trans
the essay appears to be more polished than the others, extensive lating Listening to the Loom I have tried to remain faithful to
editing and revision are the reasons. For the present volume I Nagaraj's style ofwriting. My single consistent guideline has been
considered using the earlier longer drafts but decided that, on to ensure that the essays are accessible, and towards that end I
balance, the shorter polished version worked a lot better. I also have tried to make sure that, while conveying Nagaraj's thoughts
assisted Vinay Lal and Ashis Nandy in producing the final draft of in a manner as close as possible to his intention, the prose is clear
x Editorial Note and Acknowledgements Editorial Note and Acknowledgements Xl
grateful to the encouragement and friendship of Bimol Akoijam,
and cogent. The scholarly apparatus is something I've added-it
Abhay Dube, Shail Mayaram, Madhu Kishwar, Rajni Kothari,
was missing in several of the essays.
Chandrika Parmar, Dipu Sharan, D.L. Sheth, R.K. Srivastav,
~ Shiv Visvanathan, and Yogendra Yadav.
I must also remember my friends Manan Ahmed, Chandra
The response to The Flaming Feet and Other Essays has been
shekar Belagere, Prachi Deshpande, Chandan Gowda, Rama
very gratifying. I was moved to see how much the book meant
chandra Guha, Rajeev Kinra, Vinay Lal, G.H. Nayak, Jim Nye,
to so many people twelve years after Nagaraj's death, in Bangalore
Steve and Nancy Poulos, Jayaram Raipura, Hi. Shi. Ramachandre
and across the world. It has encouraged and energized the making
gowda, Prakash Ravandur, Shankar Ramaswami, Y.P. Rajesh,
of this second volume. Given my own professional preoccupa
and Ananya Vajpeyi.
tions, it took more time than anticipated to finalize The Flaming
For the past six years, the Humanities Department at the San
Feet for publication twO years back. I have worked off and on
Francisco State University has been my home. I couldn't have
to complete the present volume, its companion and successor, over
asked for a better group of colleagues than the faculty of the
the past five years. In fact I accepted Ashis N andy's invitation to
Humanities Department at San Francisco State University; Carel
spend a year at the Centre for Studies in Developing Societies
Bertram, Seth Jacobowitz, George Leonard, Sandra Luft, Mike
(CSDS), Delhi, to prepare Nagaraj's writings for publication, as
Lunine, Laura Garcia Moreno, Cristina Ruotolo, Mary Scott,
long back as 2001-2. The Committee for Cultural Choices
and Saul Steier have been extraordinarily generous with their
sponsored my stay at the CSDS and I gratefully acknowledge that
support and friendship. Paul Sherwin, the Dean of the College
support. Professor Nandy has been instrumental in the publication
of Humanities, has always been a source of support and greatly
of this volume as well as its predecessor. His encouragement,
appreciated advice. The South Asian Studies as well as the Middle
constant support, and generosity with his time have meant a great
Eastern and Islamic Studies faculty groups at San Francisco
deal to me, as has his advice on editorial strategies; interacting
State University have been wonderful platforms, for those of us
with him has been one of the great privileges of my life over the
interested in non-Western cultures, to come together. Chris
past decade.
Chekuri has become a friend and source of counsel to whom I
Similarly, Sheldon Pollock and U.R. Ananthamurthy have been
have turned for stimulating conversations on South Indian history
wonderful mentors. Their constant encouragement and timely
and global politics.
reminders have served as my guiding spirit.
I must also express my gratitude to Nagaraj's family. Girija
I fondly remember the extraordinary community of people at
Nagaraj, Amulya, and Papu have been patient and supportive. I
CSDS during my time there: from the director VB. Singh to the
am also most grateful to Rukun Advani, a model publisher whose
librarian Sujit Deb, the warmth exuded by the place and the people
advice and patience have been sustaining over many years. More
is a memory I treasure. They welcomed me and made me part of a
important, his editing has greatly enhanced the value of this book.
group of committed scholars as well as wise people. I am very
xu Editorial Note and Acknowledgements Editorial Note and Acknowledgements XIII
My family bears with me in all my endeavours. Appa, Amma,
6. 'New Orality and Poetry': from Nagaraj's Kannada col
Malini, Abhi, Guru, Sharath, and Pradeep, for whom my accom
lection of essays Sahitya Kathana (Heggodu, Shimogga:
plishments mean a great deal. The two putanis in my life, Siri
Akshara Prakashana, 1996).
and Sahu-what would I be without them.
Part II: Politics and Violence
.-<:::::>'
7. 'Beyond the Essentialist and Constructivist Paradigms: Notes
Sources of first publication of the essays in this book, with dates
on Indian Pluralism': conference paper presented at the
of publication where available, are given below. These are also
conference on 'Politics, Culture and Socio-Economic Dyna
listed in Appendix A of the present volume, which comprises a
mics in Contemporary India', Turin, 3-5 February 1997.
full list of Nagaraj's books and essays in English, as well as his
8. 'The Ethics and Aesthetics of Violence': paper presented at
books in Kannada.
the Indo-French Colloquium on 'SenseofBelonging',Delhi,
February 1996.
Part I: Kannada's Cultural Imagination
9. 'A Tibetan Dog, the Silent Sadhus and the Peasants of
1. 'Critical Tensions in the History of Kannada Literary Cul
Champaran: Notes on Violence, Non-Violence and Counter
ture': published in Literary Cultures in History, ed. Sheldon
Violence in Gandhi': published in Ramashray Roy, ed.,
Pollock (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002).
Gandhi and the Present Global Crisis (Shimla: Indian Institute,
2. 'The Creative Imagination ofU.R. Ananthamurthy': the first
ofAdvanced Study, 1996).
part is an unpublished essay, the second part was published
10. 'Anxious Hindu and Angry Farmer: Notes on the Culture
as an Introduction to U.R. Ananthamurthy's Bharatipura
and Politics of Two Responses to Globalization in India':
(1973), translated by P. Sreenivasa Rao (Chennai: Macmil
published in Luiz E. Soares, ed., Cultural Pluralism, Identity
lan India, 1996).
and Globalization (Rio de Janeiro: UNESCO, 1996),
3. 'Chandrashekar Kambara: Playwright of Comic Energy':
pp.271-93.
published in The Book Review, December 1996, vol. xx,
11. 'The Tiger and the Magical Flute: Notes on Minorities': pub
no. 12, pp. 31-2.
lished in Asian Action Newsletter of the Asian Cultural
4. 'The Comic Collapse ofAuthority: An Essay on the Fears of
Forum on Development, July-September 1990, vol. 77,
the Public Spectator': published in Ashis Nandy and Vinay
pp. 16-18.
Lal, eds, Fingerprinting Popular Culture: The Mythic and
12. 'Spirituality and Social Action': unpublished conference
the Iconic in Indian Cinema (Delhi: Oxford University Press,
presentation.
2006).
13. 'Ashis Nandy-An Introduction': published as the Intro
5. 'Forms of Kannada Nationalism': from Nagaraj's Kannada
duction to Exiled at Home (Delhi: Oxford University Press,
collection of essays Sahitya Kathana (Heggodu, Shimogga:
1997).
Akshara Prakashana, 1996).
Introduction
Garuda in Search of Nectar:
On the Narrative Imagination of
D.R. Nagaraj
PRITH\;1 DATTA CHANDRA SHOBHI
According to Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre, the great modern
Kannada poet, poetry is the Caruda thatflies to Nectar. 1 Inspired by
this image from Bendre's poem, D.R. Nagaraj named his first
collection of essays on Kannada literature Amrita Mattu Caruda
(Nectar and Gatuda). Nagaraj was not a poet, although there are
rumours ofhim penning the occasional poem; he described himself
as a professional student of literature. But in his literary criti
cism, as well as his political and cultural writings, he retained
and displayed the sensibilities ofan epic poet who understands the
significance and influence of narratives. I want to highlight this
element in Nagaraj's thinking and writing. His secret ambition, I
suspect, was to be the pauranika of Indian civilization, although
he would have scoffed at my limiting him to India. To Nagaraj my
suggestion that he was a pauranika-the traditional commenta
tor of pre-modern puranas and kavyas-would have seemed a
I Garuda: The mythical Indian eagle, vehicle of the god Vishnu in Hindu
mythology.
--
Introduction 3
2 Listening to the Loom
friend from Udupi, wrote an essay entitled 'D.R. Nagaraj, the
compliment: he often writes admiringly about the pauranika's
son of Nectar, the one who knew Garuda'. It seems to me that
talent, using the word to describe Gandhi's interpretive style.2 He
Nagaraj would have liked to describe himself as a Garuda.
would have glossed pauranika as the storyteller who organizes
the knowledge and wisdom of a culture;3 and further, as the wise
,~
man who has the sagacity to bring together the irreconcilable
and open up new vistas. The best-known example ofsuch an effort Doddaballapura Ramaiah Nagaraj was born on 20 February 1954
in Nagaraj's work is his reconciliation of Gandhi and Ambedkar. to Ramaiah and Akkayyamma in Doddaballapur. His family be
As I will suggest later, he was at his analytic best when he adopt longed to the weaver caste but his father was a schoolteacher. Naga
ed this mode and used stories as metaphors. raj was schooled in his home town, after which he studied at the
To this image of a pauranika we also need to marry the tragic Government Arts and Science College, Bangalore. His friends,
figure of the Garuda. In his poem, Bendre referred to the mythical particularly the poet Siddalingaiah, often refer to Nagaraj's prow
Indian eagle, vehicle of the deity Vishnu, and perhaps Nagaraj too ess as a debater and his English skills, which impressed them;4
used the term in the same sense in 1983. But later, in the 1990s, he then went on to become a very good writer. His friends also
he would have been more ambivalent about what the word meant comment on his unusual ability to be simultaneously a bookworm
to him personally. My conversations with him make me suspect and committed activist who could be found at every demonstration
he would also have recognized embedded in this term the tradi and rally. It wasn't serious socialist protest marches all the time,
tion of fierce warriors in medieval South India-who were known and his youthful radicalism often took a comic and mischievous
as Garudas. In his essay 'The Ethics and Aesthetics of Violence', turn too. Siddalingaiah recounts one such episode in his autobio
included in the present volume, Nagaraj analyses their absolute graphy Oorukeri. Once, during a Ganesha festival in Doddaballa
devotion to their patron, their willingness to annihilate enemies pur, Nagaraj decided to sabotage the celebrations organized by
or else be annihilated themselves in service oftheir master. But it is the local youth committee, and so, while it was being prepar
not their status as violent agents, or their devotion to their masters, ed, he added a diarrhoea-causing mix to the prasada-the sacred
which would have appealed to Nagaraj; rather, it is their tragic fate food offered to the devotees; even though he wasn't seen playing
and incomplete life. The late Murari Ballala, Nagaraj's long-time
4 Siddalingaiah told me several humorous stories about their initial
encounters, inside the classroom and in various inter-college debating com
2 See his superb essay entitled 'Self-Purification vs Self-Respect', in The
petitions. In particular, Siddalingaiah describes testing Nagaraj's English skills
Flaming Feet and Other Essays (Ranikhet: Permanent Black, 2010).
by giving him a grammatically incorrect sentence to see how he would correct
3 Note for example Nagaraj's analysis of Mario Vargas Llosa's novel The
it. T. P. Ashok, another friend of Nagaraj's, writes that the 'story ofa backward
Story Teller in his essay 'The Lie of a Youth and the Truth ofan Anthropolog
caste boy from Doddaballapur who had studied in Kannada medium and
ist: Two Tales ofWidening of Emotional Concern', in The Flaming Feet and
digested English could be the subject of a novel.' See T.P. Ashok, Sahitya
Other Essays. He speaks approvingly of the conversion of an anthropologist
Sambandha (Heggodu, Karnataka: Akshara Prakashana). p. 346.
into a traditional storyteller.
~ QJM
4 Listening to the Loom Introduction 5
this prank, the afflicted devotees believed only Nagaraj would anthology of Urdu literature-in Kannada.7 The Kannada works
have dared do this. They began hunting for him, forcing Nagaraj were written over a period of twenty years and show his develop
to flee for a while to relatives in Bangalore.5 ment as a thinker. In contrast, Nagaraj's English writings, which
Nagaraj's next stage of study was Kannada literature at the had won him a large group of admirers as well as numerous fel
postgraduate level; he obtained a Masters and then a PhD from lowships and teaching assignments outside Karnataka, were
Bangalore University. In 1975 he joined Bangalore University as the product of a mature thinker. His only English book, The
a research scholar in the Kannada Department (formally known Flaming Feet, was published in 1993. Between it and his death in
as the Kannada Adhyayana Kendra), and subsequently he became 1998 Nagaraj had also written several essays and made conference
part of the Kannada faculty; he rose through the ranks quickly, presentations in English, some ofwhich were published in journals
becoming a reader and then, just before his death in 1998, he was and edited volumes.8 The essays in The Flaming Feet as well as
named to the newly established Kailasam Chair Visiting Profes this present volume are largely Nagaraj's writings from the 1990s.
sorship. In addition to his primary affiliation with the Kannada What I intend to do next is briefly describe his Kannada writ
Department of Bangalore University, Nagaraj was a fellow at ings, and then discuss the shifts in his intellectual pursuits and
the Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla (1993-4); senior fellow analytical methods.
at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Nagaraj began his writing career as a literary critic. His junior
Delhi (1994-6); and Visiting Professor in the Department ofSouth contemporary Chandrashekar Nangali recalls that Nagaraj's prim
Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago ary interest was in examining the relationship of literature and
(1997 and 1998).6 At the time ofhis death Nagaraj was also Direc politics.9 Any young Kannada writer in the 1970s couldn't but
tor of Shabdana, Centre for Translation (this centre being a project be deeply interested in politics. There were important political
ofthe country'sSahityaAkademi), andEditorofAksharaChintana, changes in Karnataka, especially with the emergence of back
an ambitious series of critical works published by Akshara Praka ward classes as a political force. Plenty of progressive movements,
shan of Heggodu. social and literary, had emerged as powerful agents ofsocial change
Nagaraj was a prolific writer in Kannada, in which language and begun to exert a significant influence in Karnataka. Nagaraj
he published six books, four of which appeared during his life
time. He also wrote several hundred essays, translated Rumi's
7 Along with U.R. Ananrhamurthy and Ramachandra Sharma, he also
poetry, and edited more than fifteen books-including an
coedited Vibhava: Modernism in Indian Writing (Bangalore: Panther Pub
lishers, 1992).
) My Introduction to The Flaming Feet and Other Essays (2010) provides 8 See Appendix A for a full list of his works.
more details on Nagaraj's participation in progressive movements of the 1970s. 9 Nangali writes about Nagaraj speaking at a party for graduating MA
() The Chicago appointment was particularly gratifying and important students and describing his future project as involving an exploration of poli
since Nagaraj was seen to have replaced the great Kannada writer and scholar tics and literature. See Chandrashekar Nangali, D.R. Nagaraj (Bangalore:
A.K. Ramanujan. Navakarnataka Publishers, 2009), p. 20.
Introduction 7
G Listening to the Loom
literary criticism and explored four themes in modern Kannada
was both a participant in and commentator on these phenomena.
poetry-notions ofearth, time, sexual desire, and society. The essays
As a critic, he was part ofa new current that sought to reformulate
and the monograph refuse any thematic unity apart from the fact
the critical sensibilities ofthe modernist Navya tradition. Although
that they all happen to be on Kannada literature. Although there
Nagaraj had himself been influenced by the Navya critics in his
are some ambitious essays and chapters, these early writings do
early works, that influence was tempered by what he had learned
not match the scope or intellectual rigour of Nagaraj's later essays,
from European progressive writers such as Lukacs and Brecht.
particularly 'Critical Moments in Kannada Literary Culture'. What
Unlike the Navya critics, Nagaraj believed literary criticism is ulti
we notice in the early writings is the work of a promising mind
mately a critique of the world as well as art, and both forms of
grappling with the connections between poetry and politics.
critique should start from the same plane. By the end ofthe 1970s,
After 1987 Nagaraj wrote mainly essays, both in English and
Nagaraj and other critics of the Dalit-Bandaya school sought to
Kannada, but the last decade ofhis life is more significant in show
bring the 'social' back into literary culture and often argued that
ing how far he moved from his earlier intellectual projects. His
the works of Untouchable and Shudra authors needed new lite
lo concerns become more civilizational, and in service of this new
rary criteria to appreciate and evaluate them.
focus he engages a wider range of intellectual traditions as well as
Nagaraj's first two books explore the political from the perspect
texts. This is evident both in his edited volume of Urdu litera
iveofwhat hadbeen the twodominantinfluenceson the progressive
ture, Urdu Sahitya (1990),12 and the translations of Rumi's poetry,
traditions of Karnataka: the Lohiaite tradition and the Marxist
Vasanta Smriti (1993). More significantly, in 1993 Nagaraj, along
discourses. Amrita Mattu Garuda (1983) appeared, as did his
with Akshara Publishers of Heggodu, launched an ambitious
PhD thesis on which he worked in the late 1970s: it was published
series in which fourteen books appeared over the first two years. I
as Saktisaradeya MeLa-Adhunika Kannada Kavyada Adhyayana
will discuss the theoretical orientation and objectives of the series
(The Festival of Shakti and Sharade-A Study of Modern Kan
nada Poetry). The essays in Amrita Mattu Garuda include.. dis later; here I want to note the impressive range of subjects covered
by the series: translations ofBhartrhari's Vakyapadiya and the sto
cussions on a range of subjects and authors in Kannada literature
ries of Vidyapati; critical works on the Buddhist philosopher
as well as folklore; they often ask how modern Kannada literary
Nagarjuna, the Mughal prince Darah Shikoh, and modern think
culture deals with the common man, either as subject or as author.II
ers such as Ananda Coomaraswamy and Ashis Nandy; lower-caste
In his monograph Nagaraj persisted with his primary interest in
rebellions such as the Mahima and Satnam Panth; mystical poetry
and Tamil poetics; the essays of Shiv Visvanathan and Madhu
10 See Nagaraj's own reflections on these rhemes in his Introduction to
Vibhava: Modernism in Indian Writing. Kishwar. Nagaraj wasn't simply a titular editor, he led the effort by
II In fact the common man had never been part of that literary culture,
either as author or as the subject ofliterary works. The literary-critical tradition
espoused by Nagaraj is a response to the modernist Navya which downplayed 12 Urdu Sahitya (coedited with Azizulla Baig; Bangalore: Kannada Manu
Samskriti Niredeshanalaya, 1990).
the significance of the social and argued for the autonomy of art.
