Postmodernism
in literature is significantly characterized by the distinct features of fragmentation
and bricolage. While analysing the post War II period, the element of disillusionment
and fragmentation is found to be present everywhere in every sense. This
fragmentation can be experienced on individual and social level as well. It can
be in the political, cultural and ideological worlds also. In fact, disillusionment
of concepts and theories bring the consequences of fragmentation in the post-modern
world. Simultaneously the repeated efforts have been taken to reconstruct the
world out of this fragmentation.
In
the post-modern Indian English literature, some significant names endeavoured
to present fragmentation and bricolage in their literature, one of them is Dr.
Vilas Sarang. His novel In the Lands of
Enki, presents various types of disillusionment and fragmentation in the
Third World Countries. There are very
few Indian novelist exhibit global perception of the matter as Sarang does. In the Land of Enki is an
autobiographical novel by Dr. Sarang, which earlier he wrote in Marathi under
the title of Enkichya Rajyat and
later on transcreated it into English. Here he narrates his life in Iraq: The
novel is a story of Pramod Vengurlekar, a young Indian from Mumbai (then
Bombay). Like many others he goes to the USA to get better prospects and to
live meaningful life. As he is quickly disillusioned there, he opts for totally
unknown place, Basra in Iraq. Here he comes with the hope to experience a different
life as the place is historical and known as ‘cradle of human civilization’. He
was willing to search mythology of the culture. The novel further narrates the
experiences of the narrator under repressive political regime and its impact on
everyday human life.
Pramod,
a postgraduate in English left for America from Mumbai not only in search of
better prospects but also in search of true democratic civilization based on
the principle of equality and justice. Narrator expresses his strong disapprobation
for the culture which he lives in:
“There was also a strong
dislike for what he saw around him-the ritual and superstition, the insidious
ramifications of caste and community distinctions, the tenacious hold of
restrictive ancient mores.” (Sarang, 1993, p. 6)
The
narrator further explains that Pramod left for USA with dreams in his eyes and
at first he was encouraged by the openness of American people, but he soon discovered
that his relationship with others was beginning to prove as unsatisfactory as
they had at home. He was struck by the
practicability and lack of emotions in human relationship by Americans. He was
surprised to see that Americans even hesitate to offer an artichoke hearts or a
piece of pizza even to a fiancé or a friend, and if they offer anything, they
would ask for payment. Such experiences gave a sort of disillusionment of the
genuine relationship in American culture. The frustration of the ideas takes
him to the fragmentation and hence he decides to accept the offer from a
college in Basra, Iraq. While leaving everything in America he has dreams to
discover more of the human civilization and therefore he decides to be going
back to ‘the cradle of human civilization’. However his entrance in that
ancient land begins with frustration when he experiences the encroachment of
freedom on the airport itself when his radio is confiscated for having FM
frequency on it with a promise to return it after removing the facility of FM frequency
on it. He is surprised to know that even a common machine like typewriter is
not allowed in that land. The experiences continue to add his astonishment when he learns that a person once appointed in a government job there can not
resign from it. Even government wants to control the minor parts of their life for
instance, costume and hairstyle of the students. Thus the novelist presents the
disillusionment and therefore fragmentation of the illusions of a person
expecting ideal world to be.
In
Iraq, Pramod meets many Indians who specifically came there in search of better
prospects. But most of them experience now a feeling of insecurity in the new
political regime. Simultaneously the narrator unveils their opportunistic
attitude and selfish tendency. They want to deserve the benefit of both Indian
as well as Iraqi political system but when the time comes to pay for the
benefits they try to abscond from it. They want to have liberty and material
prosperity together which is impossible in the totalitarian type of government.
There are lot of Indian merchants and businessmen in Basra earning handsome
money but when the Iraqi government gives them choice between citizenship of
the country or to leave the place, they accuse government for its policy. They
want to earn money in the foreign country and to invest it in motherland, that
which they would return their homeland and will enjoy both freedom and
prosperity.
Further,
the novelist also presents a disillusionment and fragmentation of religious
belief. Hameed Qureishi, an Indian from Aligarh is a representation of such
tendency. Hameed is hard core namazee
Muslim and keeping Islamic style beard and practices his religion very strictly
in his everyday life. Hameed neither goes for movie, nor does he drink, nor
does he smoke. He even does not eat roasted chicken as it is imported from
Europe and in his opinion they are not killed according to Muslim customs. In
fact Hameed arrived there not only in search of prosperity but also he came
there in search of ‘true Islam’ in its original land. Unfortunately his ideas
of true Islam are shattered in that place when he finds the Muslims in Iraq are
clean shaved and wearing western outfits. They not only smoke but drink also and
to the worse for him they go to watch cabaret and Western movies. Against his
vision, they speak corrupt Arabic which is not the pure classical language of Koran. While replying the question on
the same from Pramod, he expresses his frustration thus:
“That is the tragedy! (…) I was terribly shocked when I came here. I
thought I was going to an ancient Arab country, the home of Islam, and that I
would discover Islam here in its true authentic form. And what do I find? Bars
and clubs everywhere, with people sitting with bottles lined up in front of
them! It’s appalling (…) I wear my beard in true Islamic fashion- absolutely no
trimming or cutting. And here people stare me in the street as though I were
some strange sort of animal!” (p.52)
Hameed
wants to reconstruct the things on its firm and true base but it is not within
his capacity. This fragmentation of the illusions takes Hameed to undergo a
metamorphosis. Hameed’s frustration teaches him everything: smoking, eating
non-Islamic, drinking, going for movies. He now tells Pramod, “Things like that
happen, you know. One changes . . . one has to change.” (p.115) and the change
is so bigger and shocking even for Pramod when he admits his homosexuality.
Ideological
disillusionment and fragmentation is another feature of the novel presented
emphatically by the writer. Maria and Nazar speak for such fragmentation. Argentinean
origin Maria met Nazar in Berkeley in the late sixties. She had grown up in
intellectual climate and radical politics brought them together. Together they
dreamt for red revolution. She married Nazar and came to Iraq where socialist
government was ruling. When they experience a pure dictatorship under the tag
of socialism, they are helpless. Nazar compromises with the facts around and
turns to be a building contractor and becomes prosperous and a part of the
elite culture of Basra. Maria occasionally comes to Pramod’s college as a typist.
Maria lives now a comfortable bourgeois existence and Red Book of Mao is gathering dust in her private library. Maria
experiences suffocation in the country where every minor activity, even a
thinking of human being is under control. She finds a way for herself, makes
friendship with Pramod and beds with him occasionally. Surely these are not the
repercussions of her unhappy married life;
moreover she can empathize with Nazar also. But she wants some freedom from her
routine and cliché life. Sarang also criticizes the Third World socialism as it
is not practiced religiously as in Russia or East Europe. Pramod learns from one of his students
Khudeir, who is a Communist that the present government which claims to be
socialist is prosecuting Communists all over the country. Pramod’s Bengali
friend Mr. Mukherjee describes the Third World is the area where the tensions
of the first two are played. Further he expresses his idea of Third World:
“It’s possible to
create a genuine Third World- a really beautiful Third World- by combining the
best things in the first two worlds, like the concern for freedom in the first,
and the desire for equality and justice in the second.”(p.132)
Mr.
Mukherjee always wants to find the key to discover the Third World of his
dreams. Perhaps he is still optimistic in spite of repeated fragmentation of
his dreams. Mr. Mukherjee also tells Pramod that the totalitarian atmosphere in
Iraq is not new. Having some study of archaeology, he tells Pramod that even ancient Sumerian civilization shows uncanny resemblance to the present times.
He shows Pramod some archaeological proofs that Enlil and Enki, the highest
Sumerian Gods were also ruthless dictators. According to him, “...history
repeats itself. Centuries may pass, (…) but human society doesn’t fundamentally
change.” (p.132)
Disillusionment
and fragmentation of the ideas of individual freedom is another feature of the
novel. Sarang presents a gap between the theory and actual practice of the
concept of individual freedom. People who are brought up with the idea of
individual freedom in the American atmosphere experience suffocation in Iraq.
Pramod’s colleague Aqueel stands for certain frustration. He is brought up in
the free atmosphere of California. He is total American in his behaviour and
haunted by the idea of freedom. He has American wife too. He came to his
motherland with patriotic dreams at his heart. Soon he faces frustration when he
finds that the ideas of individual freedom cannot work in Iraq. Especially for
his American wife it is so difficult to adjust in the totalitarian atmosphere
in Iraq. Consequently she leaves Aqueel for US. Aqueel is shattered, cannot
tolerate the destruction of his dreams. Moreover, he cannot leave his place and
join his wife as he arrived here on special agreement with the government. The
stress is insufferable for him and all this results into his suicide. The
totalitarian control leads these characters to search an outlet for their
depressed feelings. Maria finds comfort in an extramarital relationship with
Pramod. Salwa and Pramod experience freedom in each other’s company in a lonely
place. Salwa knows that her relationship with Pramod cannot live longer in the
orthodox atmosphere of her family, still she wants to collect and enjoy these
valuable moments of life. Pramod too understands the importance of freedom in
the totalitarian atmosphere. Since he comes from India and some period of his
life he spent in US and as both the countries have respect for democracy, he
was unaware of the value of personal freedom. As expected their relationship
cannot live longer as Abu Fareed, the father of Salwa stops her college, when
he learns about their relations. Pramod also observes that the experience of
individual freedom is relative. For instance, the people from Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia experience freedom in Iraq as drinking and cabarets are not allowed in
these neighbouring countries. Iraq is more permissible for such things and
hence the people come there to enjoy themselves. On the contrary, Hameed feels
secure in Iraq. Hameed is changed now
and therefore he wants freedom from all the clutches of family and his past. He
is happy that the Iraqi government does not give visa to anybody on demand as
it is closed country and hence he feels safe there. The idea of individual
freedom is fragmented by Hameed in another way. Pramod notes his observations:
“Hameed’s was a strange
case. Aqueel and Abu Fareed had been driven to desperation by the closed doors
of the country, and Pramod himself had begun to find it oppressive, while
Hameed found sanctuary and contentment in precisely this sense of enclosure.
The chain that shackled others protected him.” (p.163)
Fragmentation
of the doctrine of one nation and patriotism is another significant part of
this novel. Disillusionment of dreams is an emotional assault to these people.
Aqueel is one of them. He came to Iraq with an appeal of patriotism. He had
dreams to contribute in making of new Iraq and therefore he had left California
along with his American wife and came to Basra on special agreement with the
government. The truth is far away from his dreams. He suffers in the absence of
freedom. The situation for his American wife is more distressing and hence she
leaves him for USA. The idea of contributing to the homeland disappears now and
replaced by a frustration. The same experience for Sabri Mizfer, who returns to
Iraq from London but soon he learns to compromise with changing times. Pramod
also observes the disillusionment of European women who married Iraqis and
settled in Basra. Life is custody for them. These women and their men are
naturally drifted together and create separate social life of their own. The
experience of the distance between dream and reality takes them to frustration.
Moreover the socialist government of the nation always speaks for the justice
and nation but it too has racial complex. The government is prejudiced to its own
citizens belonging to the Kurdish race. They are forced to migrate from
northern part of the nation to the southern part. They are always kept under
the suspicion, even college and university atmosphere is not an exception. Pramod
observes here the falling of nationalism from everywhere.
Presentation
of the impacts of the post War II political situation on the Third World and
individual’s suffocation is a prominent feature of Enki. The ideas and visions of individual and society are shattered
in many ways and the consequence of this fragmentation is ultimate frustration.
Characters like Aqueel cannot tolerate this fragmentation and trounced by the
fate whereas, many of them compromise with the changing atmosphere and try to create
a new life within the periphery. The postmodern term ‘bricolage’ is apt for its
description. The French term ‘bricolage’ means construction or something constructed by using whatever comes
to hand. Sarang’s people in Enki endeavour
to construct their own worlds out of the broken pieces of their dream world and
ideologies. These ‘bricolage’ worlds are not they dreamt but moreover they are
contradictory to their ideologies and visions in many respects, but they have
enough capacity to give them pleasure with the changes. Impacts of the post War
II politics made them feeble before the political and capitalist power but they
could retain their creativity and desire of life and hence they are succeeded to
find escape from the totalitarian world to some extent. Eminent critic of
Postmodernism, Fredric Jameson defines this as an ‘anxiety of utopia’. Every
individual in Enki is anxious to
discover his/her utopia in the world around. These utopias are political,
social, ideological, religious and many others, but an individual is neither
capable to discover it nor to create it. Jameson names it after ‘totalization’
and describes incapability of an individual in the world of post-capitalism in
these words:
“…‘totalization’- one of the most sordid residual vices to be eradicated
from the populist health and fitness of the new era- individuals like Humpty
Dumpty cannot make it mean what they want it to mean…” (Jameson, 2006, pp. 331-332)
The people in Enki
are Humpty Dumpty from the idea of Jameson, and therefore everyone of them
individually cannot bring his/her own vision into reality. They are defeated
before the powerful political and capitalist system but further all of them have
not lost their courage. Many of them exhibit the strong capacity to rise from
their defeat and disillusionment and thereby create the new world out of the
fragmentation which is a significant post-modern characteristic: ‘bricolage’. This
is a global phenomenon of the post-modern era, after the pitfalls of
fragmentation and disillusion of ideas and doctrine specifically in the Third
World countries. Dr. Sarang thus succeeded to present his individual
experiences in to a global perspective.
(Abbreviation Enki
is used for In the Land of Enki)
References:
-
Sarang
Vilas. (1993). In the Land of Enki.
Calcutta: Seagull Books
-
Best Steven, Kellner Douglas M. (1991). Postmodern Theory. London: Guilford
Press.
- Jameson,
Frederic. (2006). Postmodernism
or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Durham: Duke University Press.
