Dr. Renuka Devi Jena

 Indian English novel is the most amenable literary genre for projecting the pressing social, economic and political concerns of the times. Its thematic pre-occupations have included the glorification of the Indian heritage, the mustering of support for the freedom movement, espousing the cause of Gandhian Non-violence, recounting of the colossal tragedy of the partition riots and presenting the impact of the changing social scene on the Indian sensibility with special emphasis on the interaction of the ingrained religious streak in the Indian character with the more mundane considerations of the West.

After 1950 we notice that the paradigms of Indian English novelists shifted to the exploration of the self, from external to internal issues. To generalize, nationalistic orientation can be said to be the most distinctive feature of the Indo English novel in the pre-independence era while that of the post-independence novel seems to be the psychological probing of the individual destiny, shaped and molded by overweening historical and sociological changes. Gradually the philosophy of existentialism emerged in the literary scenario. Existentialism has been intensely and successfully explored in Indian English literature. The Indian English novelists have attempted to explore the individuality of man, his self – examination and search for his identity, his refusal to accept the traditional values propagated by religion or philosophy.

The central theme of existentialism is freedom of the individual. It emphasizes that individuals are ultimately responsible for their own actions they are not predestined for their actions they are absolutely free to make their own destiny and are thereby solely responsible for their decisions. In the process experience alienation and loneliness, feelings of anguish arise as freedom of will over the way the world sees them, the way normally they are expected to behave, the norms of behaviour which determines society.  

In summation it can be concluded that, existentialists believe that we are what we make of our self, we is not predestined by God or by society. For this reason existentialism insists on only actions of will which are the ultimate determining factors of life. Thus the individual has no recourse to any other determining factors including religion, he has to create his own meaning for his or her own self as there are no meanings or structure that come before one’s own existence. In this perspective existential thought has attained the unfair reputation of  pessimism. In general the very idea of creating meaning in life appears to be absurd and meaningless. Even the tenets associated with existentialism such as loneliness, alienation, fear, angst, etc.  appear at the outset as pessimism. Nevertheless, existential philosophy does not advocate a negative approach to life or reality, the philosophy in fact is all about understanding oneself and revolves around the boundless capabilities of an intellectual and ethically conscious individual to bring about positive change in his life and subsequently in the world. So positive change is crucial for the true existentialist; in order to lead a fulfilling life otherwise life becomes meaningless and purposeless and a complete void to them. Taking into consideration this view point existentialism is not at all about pessimism but about bringing a positive meaningful change in one’s life.     

The objective of most recent novelists seems to be to analyze the causes for this soul-sickness and to explore ways and means by which the two more virulent spiritual maladies – loneliness and alienation can be held at bay. In the course of this pre-occupation the perspective of the novel has understandably shifted from sociological evaluation to psychological analysis. The shift of focus of Indian English novel to existential angst can be apparently noticed in the writings of Kamala Markandaya, Anita Desai, Arun Joshi. Nayantara Sehgal, Salman Rushdie, Jhumpa Lahairi and their contemporaries.  

Anita Desai in all her novels especially in “Fire on the Mountain” and “Cry the Peacock” reveals her penchant for existentialism while she brings out the sufferings, loneliness and powerlessness of married women suppressed by their existential quest. The problem of the tragic tension between the individual and their unfavourable environment acquires the dimensions of existential angst. Anita Desai’s novels have been repeatedly examined from existential perspectives. existential perspectives as it efficiently tackles issues of loneliness, alienation and absurdity of existence. Desai’s “Cry the Peacock ” is about Maya, her inability to handle her detached workaholic husband. Being extremely sensitive she feels lonely, dejected resulting in the ultimate catastrophe, where in a state of insanity she kills the husband out of frustration.

Arun Joshi like Anita Desai has extensively dealt with the trauma and agony of modern man, the existential angst, man’s alienation and loneliness. Arun Joshi’s extraordinary insight and his profound knowledge of human psychology is evident in his sensitive portray of man’s rootlessness, restlessness and existential quest. Arun Joshi’s “The Foreigner” and “The Strange Case of Billy Biswas” alienation, loneliness and pessimism. In such a setting, the characters feel their existence rootless, absurd and are in search for something meaningful. Arun Joshi’s choice of themes like expansion of the human spirit in the atmosphere of freedom, agony of the lonely soul lost in a hostile world etc. typify universal experiences rather than national or cultural idiosyncrasies. The Indian novelists dealt with the new subjects of human existence and man’s quest for self in all its complicated situations, they offer a picture of tensions and conflicts that defy neat, pat solutions.    

They do not bother about giving elaborate details of social settings as they study man more as a victim of his own inner environment rather than of the external material or moral climate. Their characters are more concerned with their own highly sensitized world of sense and sensibility than with the average Indian’s greatest problem of all-keeping body and soul together. Each one of these novelists is highly realistic in as far as he or she captures both the agony and ecstasy of an essentially subjective response to the passing panorama of life. For all their erratic behaviour and whimsicality the protagonists in the novels of these writers are sincere and courageous, forgoing the easier path of obedience to an external code and opting to make their own feelings the operative principle guiding their destinies.

The shifting paradigms in the literary scenario of postmodern novelists, provides an overview of the changing cultural norms and altering controversies of identity crisis. For instance the literary works of Arun Joshi’s, “The Foreigner ” and “The Strange Case of Billy Biswas“, Anita Desai’s, “Cry The Peacock” and “Fire on The Mountain“, Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Interpreter Of Maladies and The Namesake throw light on the causes and consequences of existential anguish and to reach an appropriate understanding of the existential crisis in postmodern situation. The presence of the tenets of existentialism in fiction visibly reveals the rationale that modern Indian English fiction writers are aware and conscious of the sensitive issues of the psychological problems of people.