Chander and Sudha
Author:Dharamvir Bharati
Publisher: Penguin, Rs499
English translations of Indian literature in other languages have been restricted in their availability. Therefore, it’s a pressing concern that we have more English translations of as many regional and linguistic works as possible. Chander and Sudha is a much needed endeavour to do the same, writes ANANYA BORGOHAIN
It’s surprising how so many of our literary geniuses gave us classics when they were so young, particularly in Hindi. Harivansh Rai Bachchan wrote Madhushala when he was 28, Kaifi Azmi wrote his first ghazal, Itna To Zindagi Mein Kisi Ki Khalal Pade, when he was only 11, Rajendra Yadav wrote Sara Akash at 21, Premchand wrote his first novel Devasthan Rahasya at 23, Sahir ludhianvi wrote Talkhiyan at 22, and Dharamvir Bharati wrote Gunaho ka Devta at 23. Bharati, who was awarded the Padma Shri for literature in 1972 has two other revered works — Suraj ka Satva Ghoda, a play that is still widely adapted on stage and was adapted into a film by Shyam Benegal, and Andha Yug, an immensely admired novel — among an awe-inspiring body of work.
An erudite of the mid-20th Indian century, emerging as a gripping literary voice from Allahabad along with contemporaries such as Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Bharati is reputed for his magnum opuses and had studied all his way to PhD research in Hindi literature. He was also the chief editor of the Hindi journal Dharma Yug, for which he was based in Mumbai. He passed away in 1997.
Bharati wrote exclusively in Hindi, but was said to have been an enthusiastic follower of world literature. His Gunaho ka Devta has been translated into English and titled Chander and Sudha by journalist Poonam Saxena.
Chander and Sudha takes us back to the Allahabad of the 1940s, an era sans social media, or even emails and telephones. It’s a heartrending love story between young, fervent and mischievous Sudha and her father, Dr Shukla’s protégé, the gifted researcher Chander.
Chander manifests a lot of attributes of the young, scholarly Bharati in his time. Dr Shukla trusts the mature and responsible Chander to look after Sudha and be her guardian angel in all walks of life. The bond that Chander and Sudha share is that of two good-humoured, inseparable friends, and neither understands the love that their hearts cultivate for each other. The status quo remains the same halfway through the novel, until Sudha’s marriage to her betrothed Kailash Mishra is fixed. At a very poignant moment in the novel, when they talk about their relationship for the first time, it is apparent how the two pine for each other. It is at this point, that one sees, much like in the Bengali classic Devdas, ahead of Gunaho ka Devta by three decades, how love in India is entangled in a web of socio-cultural necessities. At once, the pandora’s box of class difference, caste barrier, and social taboos of the 1940s is unwrapped.
Chander slaps Sudha in a fit of rage and Sudha falls on his feet, letting out her shrieks of agony while consenting to marry Kailash since Chander so wishes. It’s a moment that underlines the constricting realities of the Indian middle class, more specifically, of women of the time. As Chander points out, it’s also pertinent for Sudha to give up all her aspirations for the sake of marriage to be able to prove to the society that she is pure and their relationship is unsoiled. Their love transcends the realms of tangible, physical proximities. It’s a tale of unadulterated, self-sacrificing and overwhelming romance.
Other significant characters in the story are the uninhibited, outspoken Pammi, a perfect foil character to Sudha, Sudha’s cousin, the coy Binti and friend Gesu. Binti is a parallel drawn to Sudha’s character. Interestingly, Dr Shukla himself cancels Binti’s marriage upon discovering the fake credentials of the groom and suggests Chander to find another match for her who can also be outside of the community, and until then, Binti can resume her studies. Both were strictly not applicable to Sudha who had pleaded relentlessly to not be married off. All hell breaks loose when Sudha’s marriage is doomed to a sordid existence and eventually the blame falls on Chander. Chander had hitherto been considered as a god-like, flawless persona. Binti even goes to call him a devta, but now that he brought Sudha’s life to irreparable perils, he is entitled to his own share of sins. Thus, he becomes a ‘gunaho ka devta’.
The novels captures the pulse of the climacteric 1940s, a time when Indians were moving from colonialism to independence. The social setup of Chander and Sudha highlights the dual identities that they were struggling with. Being released from imperialism, Indians were still engulfed by regressive norms and social dogmas within the country. Overtones of internalised chauvinism and collective disagreement for intercommunal marriages are substantially highlighted. In fact, in many ways Pammi’s brother Bertie’s eccentric conjugal life is a symbolic representation of social institutions like marriage which entrapped Sudha too.
In this modern retelling of an old classic, however, the youth may fail to find a connection, particularly among the urban masses. The original title Gunaho ka Devta referred to Chander alone, but being titled Chander and Sudha and subtitled ‘a tale of star-crossed lovers’, this time it’s evident that the plotline is centred on the two lovers. This is unique in itself because Indian English literature is not known for too many love sagas. However, the story takes time to grow on the readers. Chander and Sudha, belonging to the generation that they do, seldom communicate their carefully camouflaged emotions and instead subscribes to all social proprieties. They are patient and gullible. More so, Sudha’s naivety and impatient nature might be too trying for modern, urban readers. More so, when pitched against Pammi’s candidness. Chander too is inescapably chauvinistic and condescending towards the women.
English translations of Indian literature in other languages have been restricted in their availability. Therefore, it’s a pressing concern that we have more English translations of as many regional and linguistic works as possible. Chander and Sudha is a much needed endeavour to do the same.