Reviving the Credo
through Pop Culture: A Study of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhya’s Works
Bidya Singh
Ph. D. Research Scholar
Veer
Surendra Sai University of Technology
Burla, Odisha, India
Abstract:
Pop Culture or Popular culture refers to the
adaptation of the dominant work to recognize a set of beliefs and objectives.
Films being a crucial category of Pop-culture have always served as a mode of
communication with the audience. The Indian audience from ages prefer
performing arts rather than going through textual data. But both the art forms
are rich in cultural and ethnicity. Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novels like
Devdas (1917), Parineeta (1914), Srikanto (1917-1933), Grihadaha (1920) and
others have been adapted as movies and serials . The re-telling of the text in
visual form does not alter the context but gives a better understanding to the
audience. The most celebrated Bengali novelist and short story writer
Chattopadhyay is also better known as Chatterjee whose works are adapted and
translated. His works not only helps in one’s convenience for imagination but
also it gives a vivid idea of one’s true self and the ethical values. The
issues of institutions like love, marriage, family and ethics are being
discussed in his works very profoundly. Complexities of human relationship is
being virtualized and delineated by the adaptations. Digitalisation helps in
better understanding and perspective. The immortal story of Dev and Paro,
Shekhar and Lolita are patronized and condescend. In the paper the idea of
deconstructed self is portrayed. The retelling of past culture through the
lenses makes the audiences intrigue about the religion and customs of the
precedent. To examine the bold confessions made by the protagonist in the
artefacts should be measured. And to mark the gabs in-between the textual and
the adaptations is necessary.
Keywords: Adaptation; Culture; Digitalisation; Gab;
Imagination; Religion
Religion and culture are integral and interwoven
concepts. The celebrations of human relationships are prominent in the epics.
The Indian literary text that are influenced by the religion and culture does
represents the life at its best and projects the concepts of temptations,
conspiracies, selfishness, sacrifice and
salvation. Epics are relevant to all ages and times. In different
artefacts like drama, fiction, poetry, novels and more have a variety of
offerings towards the modern literature. The Indian literature is very popular
among the audience as it conveys and understands the mindset of the common. As
religion and literature goes hand in hand it is difficult to bear humanity
without culture. Its helps us to understand different elements of life and helps
to channelize the answers.
The Indian English writers like Sarat Chandra, R. K.
Narayan, Raja Rao, Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy, Kamala Das have
made contemporary realities more comprehensive to the audiences by using the
archetypes, images and myths of religious book like that of Ramayana and
Mahabharat. It is loved to quote the affinities from the ancient texts due to
its everlasting and enigmatic concepts. So according to Sri Aurobindo, Indian
epics are embedded with realities, truths, moral, religious and ethical
concepts, “They represent Indian way of life and a view of family system and
society. These epics represent an overview of ancient Indian culture and
traditions which are still being carried by Indians. They give us mental
strength and poise in difficult times. Religion has always been the life force
of Indians.” (Religious Influence on
Indian Literature) Earlier Indian
texts were confined to sacred Hindu writings, which are known as Vedas and Upanishads which were mainly written in Sanskrit. As Sanskrit was
identified with the Brahmin religion it was restricted to the upper caste. As
the tradition of English literature came into existence, it gave a wider
perspective to the Indian writers to analyze the Indian tradition and culture
in terms of modernity.
Religion and culture answers the basic and
the fundamental questions that are raised by human existence. The myths also
teach the true values of human existence that is of morality and ethnicity. The
ancient myths still connects and gets associated with individual self as per it
beautifully crafted techniques. So in the modern life people have adopted
different cultures and traditions. Some of them are evolved out of two cultures
or a fusion of the present culture. The new culture that evolves out of the
people and is popularly accepted is said to be popular culture.
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay is also better
known as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee whose works are
adapted and translated is a celebrated Bengali novelist and short story writer. Devdas (1917), Parineeta (1914), Srikanto (1917-1933), Grihadaha (1920), Dena- Paona (1923) are some of his noted works. His novels have
been adapted as movies and TV serials into many different Indian languages like
Devdas (1935), Parineeta (2005), Srikanto (1987),
Grihadaha (1988) and others. The
re-telling of the text in visual form does not alter the context but gives a
better understanding to the audience. The modern audience has taken Sarat
Chandra’s work into to mainstream through Popular Culture. The adaptations of
his works have a profound impact on the new audiences. His works not only helps
in one’s convenience for imagination but also it gives a vivid idea of one’s
true self and the ethical values. Complexities of human relationship is being
virtualized and delineated by the adaptations. Sarat Chandra always in his
works projects the ideas of Indian religion and culture as because they are
more viable, ethical and highly admirable. It also has a strong moralistic and
theistic effect. In addition to it, religion and culture not only have sacred
and philosophical attributes but also it explores the exotic, lyrical and
nativity. So we can find the issues of institutions like love, marriage, family
and ethics are being discussed in Sarat Chandra’s works very profoundly.
Moni Shankar Mukherjee who writes under the
pseudonym “Shankar” in an interview correctly points out that “Sarat Chandra
during his lifetime did not enjoy the kind of respect and popularity accorded
to Rabindranath and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.” (Indian publishing industry goes gaga over
Bengali novelist Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, India Today). As Sarat Chandra’s novels were simple and exemplify
the social issues. Adding to it Shankar also declares that “As a novelist Sarat
Chandra is more popular than even Rabindranath Tagore, no matter what the
intellectuals might feel.” (ibid) The immortal story of Dev and Paro, Shekhar
and Lolita are patronized and condescend. The story plot may seem simple and
effortless but it is more complex and interwoven. Sarat Chandra’s works helps
the reader to have a vivid visualization of text and it helps in better
understanding.
The retelling of past culture through the lenses makes
the audiences intrigue about the religion and customs of the precedent.
Digitalisation helps in better understanding and has a wider perspective. Films
being a crucial category of Pop-culture have always served as a mode of
communication with the audience. The Indian audience from ages prefer
performing arts rather than going through textual data. But both the art forms
are rich in cultural and ethnicity. Sarat Chandra’s works are wildly adapted
into different form of art in different languages. The popularity and the
reorganization of Sarat Chandra’s works are wide spread.
In Sarat Chandra’s
works one can easily find the interwoven complexities. There are ample examples
in his artefacts that discover the influence of the religion and culture. The
immortal story of Dev and Paro, Shekhar and Lolita are patronized and
condescend. When the textual data are being digitalized it gives the audience
to have a retrospective abstruse on the characters chords. The adaptation and digitalization are the mode that helps
the culture to get marinates with the lifestyle and takes the essence out of it
so that one could feel more connected to it. It also helps the audience to be
in trend and endorse the thought that accumulate at a point of time but which
were forgotten at the space of work. So the adaptation of Sarat Chandra’s works
helps the modern audience to engross itself in the ethnicity of the religion.
The celebration of culture and the colours of tradition are vividly described
in his artefacts. In Devdas, Sarat
Chandra’s description of Chandramukhi is so lively that it makes the audience’s
experiences groovy.
With
the establishment of theatres in 1931, Sarat Chandra’s involvement towards
politics became more prominent. As his novel’s central theme questions the
patriarchal biases present in the relationships between the self and the
society. Similarly the nation identity and culture is also debated from an
evolutionary point of view. The novels of his not only confronts about the
class based society where sex, morality, marriage, filial obedience and
personal space are grown accustomed but also it preaches the idea of
nationalist ideology. In Nishkriti it
is correctly pointed out how the Indians are brain washed “If the seed of doubt
are planted in the minds of the innocent, even the perpetrator cannot remain
unaffected by the consequences. A person who is taught to doubt her enemies,
also learns to suspects her friends.” (Nishkriti
51)
The
novels of Sarat Chandra are gratified even today in form of cinema as because
the essence of it never fades away and Indian audience from ages prefer
performing arts rather than going through textual data. The adaptations are
showcasing the traditional culture to that of culture in the present context
but to show significance ancient. Sarat Chandra says in Devdas that “Thoughts comes in patterns. Those who have hope in
their heart think in one way. And those who have no hope think in quite a
different manner.” (Devdas 92)
One of the other major themes in
Sarat Chandra’s work is the existence of life and reorganization of self. Women
in Sarat Chandra’s work played a very effective role and are well defined. Some
of the women characters are very powerful and conventional, characters like
Paro in Devdas, Vijaya of Datta (1917-1919),
Hemangini of Mejdidi (1967), Lalita in Parineeta and Kamala of Shesh
Prashna (1929). The women speak their minds out and did not feared the
society’s indignation. As Bengal witnessed the social movements for women like
widow remarriage, partition in nation’s freedom, right to education and others
also have a great influence in the literary texts. Some of Sarat Chandra’s work
celebrates the pedigree of the fallen women as the central character who
exclude the ill will and interference of the society’s view on them. The iconic
example is the character of Chandramukhi in Devdas,
who is a Baiji (courtesan) belonging
to the downtrodden society of women. But the portrayal of Chandramukhi is
ethereal and her tale of unrequited love for Devdas is uncanny. The women
characters in Sarat Chandra’s work never bowed to the prejudices and societal
injustices. And even if they do so it was always out of their own choice. Women
being symbolized as emotion allow the reader to visualize complex and difficult
subjects. So Sarat Chandra portraiture of women is always magnificent, highly
aesthetic, ambiguous and ambitious.
So the
adaptation and digitalization of the literary text has bridge the difference
through mass awareness so that the subjugated class can equally be treated as
that of a human like the others. So it gives the audience the chance to decide
the ire of society as an offensive business or to accept it as it is the basic
human physic nature. The portrayal of the strong characters helps audiences to
determine its norm and a proper justification is needed to break it. These
wonders are made possible due to the enrichment of popular culture and the
acceptance towards it. The popular culture has made the man to think out of the
box and to explore the new dimensions of the modern world. The
mode creates a bridge between the culture and the people out there. The culture
helps the people to learn and analyze its mistakes. The popular culture has
given a platform for literature to expresses the ideas that which were earlier
believed as taboos. The movies adapts the plot as that of the novel’s but the
essence that is evokes during the watch is quite different to that of reading.
These different perspectives help to explore the new conventions for critically
examining Sarat Chandra’s works. Hence it can be said that the perspective
never lies out of the text but inside of it. So it would be correct to say that
the human values lies with the inner self and it is not in the isolation. Human
values should inculcate all the necessary lessons that these great works teach
us the religion and culture in the lost modernity.
And
while understanding the concepts of Sarat Chandra’s works in terms of
tradition, it gives the message that the deeds of a Human are indeed
accountable. Good deeds lead to a better life while nasty deeds lead humans to
succumb. A man must remain true to itself and pledge to serve the mankind with
moral and influencing actions. This way, not only it sets a benchmark to the
world but also serves itself as it is the one who is being loved and respected
by all.
Earlier
the literature by the patrons were unquestionable as they we holy but the
ineffectiveness of the old social order evoked the minds of people to question
about the pain and anguish, the sense of deprivation and yearning for a better
social order. So in the modern days the terms and conditions of the people were
meant by Sarat Chandra’s artifacts that single handedly deals with the social
injustices and also defend the cultural heritage. His aim was to target the
powerful and the strong who categorized themselves as the defenders of the
society (higher class- Brahmins). The orthodox Hindu society was strongly
opposed by his thoughts and his works. The Brahmos were vicious and supported
the narrow minded prejudices and they blindly follow the superstitions which
were followed in the Hindu society.
The
examples of social prejudices and hierarchy are prevalent in Sarat Chandrs’s
works. In the Third Part of Srikanta, where the construction of a
railway tracks are described, showcases the impulsive resentment of Srikanta’s
character and it is amplified, which later results in a sudden outburst. His
observation on the wretched condition of the workers' with whom he had to spend
a night in the slum reflects not just the humanist thinking, but it describes
the social ladder that of a higher thought and culture. For example, seeing the
Subhuman and his distressed condition of the workers, Srikanta says, "But,
you, the bearers of modern civilization, you are dying, you die! Forgive not,
in the least, this cruel civilization that has made your life such. If you are
to carry it, carry it down speedily to the abysmal depth of its grave." (Srikanta)
Sarat Chandra had a tendency to
surpass the ideologies of the bourgeois humanist opinion and some other aspects
of communist thinking. The example is elaborately described in Pather Dabi
where Sabyasachi says "There is nothing like realization of absolute
or eternal truth in this ever-changing world. It comes into being and goes out
of being. With passage of time, from one age to another, it undergoes changes
and assumes newer and newer forms in conformity with the changing needs of
human society. The truth of the past must be adhered to in the present -- such
a belief is erroneous, such a notion superstitious." This very concept of
truth and method of reasoning by Sarat Chandra reveal a great deal of influence
of dialectical materialism, communist thoughts, ideas and reasoning of his
attributes.
The ambiguity and the influence of religion
and culture can be marked by Sabyasachi in Pather Dabi who remarks
that "To me, truth or falsehood, good or bad, are determined only by the
necessity of 'Pather Dabi'. This is the creed, the guiding principle
of my life. This is my mode of existence, this is what I am, my candid
realization. You speak of the ultimate truth, the eternal truth -- to you these
meaningless, hollow words are inestimably valuable, but there is no greater a
trick to befool the ignorants. I never lie, but I create truth at the dictate
of necessity." (Pather Dabi 1996)
So the thought and literature is subjected to
the examination and is to bring about a change in the rational framework and
outlook of the people. The media, movies, theatrical plays are some of the
modes of popular culture that one can link its own self, which will be helpful
to understand and act against the old customs, prejudices and sense of morality
of the old Hindu society. So All film adaptations based on the works of Sarat
Chandra Chattopadhyay, which will enable us to picture the man's profound impact
on popular culture over the past several decades. Therefore the textual data are
being digitalized so are the literary text so the adaptation of literary
artefacts is very ubiquitous. Sarat Chandra
Chattopadhyay remains one of the most illustrious literati from the country.
Best known for Devdas and Parineeta, the author needs to be given
the respect for his mammoth impact on pop-culture, which dictated the kind of
films which were made in India.
Bibliography
Banerjie,
Indranil. “Indian
publishing industry goes gaga over Bengali novelist Sarat Chandra
Chattopadhyay”, India Today, December 2, 2013.
Chakravarti, Aruna. “Introduction”. Srikanta,by Sarat
Chandra Chattopadhyay, translated by Aruna Chakravarti. Penguin, 1993.
Chatterjee, Sarat Chandra.
Nishkriti. Translated by Malobika Chaudhuri, Penguin
Books, 2005.
---. Srikanta.
Translated by Aruna Chakravarti. Classic Sarat Chandra, vol. 1. Penguin Books,
2011.
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Dabi. Ananda Publishers, Google
Scholar, 1996.
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