Darjeeling of the 1950s amidst paradoxes of political identities, poverty, and patriarchy
PART 1: A Paradox of Political identities
The story begins when the air of independence hangs in India while Nations are recovering from WWII. It is under these circumstances that the author introduces Darjeeling through the narrative of Janakman Yonzon. Janak’s early political character is shaped by a belief in Gandhian philosophies correlating to the period when Indian freedom fighters from the region such as Dal Bahadur Giri were, in reality, propagating the Gandhian thought in the region. The political plot then follows the advent of the Communist Party in the tea plantations of Darjeeling, which was in reality led by the Communist veteran, Ratanlal Brahmin. Darjeeling's political thoughts through this period are explored via the narrative of Ravi, Janak's son.
The use of contrast is prominent: Between the town and the tea plantations, between Nepal and Darjeeling, between cultures, characters, and circumstances, thus defining and dissolving the lines between each narrative.
The paradox in the alignment of identity between ethnic Nepali and sub-nationalist Indian of a post-colonial Darjeeling is reflected well by the character of an idealist Janak and his impressionable son, Ravi. The journeys of the father and son, although different, are shaped by similar traits of righteousness, ambition, and an endless yearning for association, affection, and validation.
Another political landmark that can be traced in the story is the Margaret’s Hope Shooting Incident of 1955.
On 25 June 1955, while staging a peaceful protest against unfair management practices, six permanent long-term tea garden workers at the Margaret’s Hope tea estate, including a pregnant woman and a 14-year-old boy, were shot dead by the West Bengal Police.
As the plot moves through these trajectories, the precarious position of the place and its people, sharing in the National sentiment while remaining ironically isolated begins to manifest. Personal resentments fueled by a gnawing ache for validating one's roots as post-colonial overlords start tightening the noose around the chicken neck then form the political ethos of the citizens. Amidst these movements, the plot meanders through mundane details of a typical Darjeeling locality as characters get caught up in their tumultuous affairs, transporting the reader to a realistic reflection of the era through symbolic of communities that formed the Darjeeling Diaspora during the 1950s.
One after another, ramitas in the personal lives of the actors and the public life of Darjeeling unfold with much drama and satire to collide into the ultimate ramita that shapes the place up to this day: A carnival of political agendas.
PART 2: A Paradox of Poverty
The author discusses the underlying socioeconomic conditions of Darjeeling through contrasting narratives of the two protagonist families: Janak-Sita and M K- Babuni.
In Janak and Sita, we come across a burgeoning community tiding economic impediments through enterprise and grit in a commercially expanding post-industrial town. The more economically fragile populace in Darjeeling has been explored via the narrative of MK and Babuni, Janak’s neighbours. Although both families are jostling between survival and dreams, one gets a hand at the new privileges provided by a post-colonial independent Nation, while the other struggles to make ends meet.
Janak and MK's characterization are stark opposites to each other, especially in the ideas of ambition and duty. However, through Janak's constant ruminations and MK's skepticism, a haunting for an elsewhere can be perceived in both.
Signs of MK's mental distress have been subtly strewn since the beginning, but pass over as easily overlooked, just as they might have been by society at the time. One such instance is when MK gets dressed to walk around town but comes back home abruptly. Together, MK's vulnerabilities and his socioeconomic limitations dictate his decision-making skills and seal the fate of his narrative. His disadvantageous status in the societal hierarchy also keeps him from seriously engaging in any discourse of significance.
The most poignant revelation of contrast is perhaps during the nightly conversations between Sita- Janak and Babuni- MK:
"In the emptiness of the night, Janak and Sita, and MK and Babuni, sifted through their joys and sorrows among themselves. The only difference between the two couples was that while one also talked about the outside world, the other talked only of themselves."
An interesting element that furthers the discussion of the town's socioeconomic arrangement is the description of the fictional settings around Darjeeling's townscape. By using certain identifiable places, the author has quite shrewdly brought out Darjeeling's physical spaces as defined by its internal socioeconomic hierarchies- “The slogans from the demonstration echoed through the grand quarter and buildings near Chowrasta, and through their many empty rooms”.
Along with contrasting plots, the author has used societal gaze as a medium to reflect Darjeeling’s social stance in the 1950s.
Through deliberate conversations among multiple characters, perhaps, the author wanted to present the role of the society in the 1950s and all other eras just as it is: a gauger of personal lives and facilitator of the social order:
PART 3: A Paradox of Patriarchy
The narrative of There’s a Carnival Today is popularly read in terms of its male protagonists. However, a layered feminist narrative simultaneously brews as an undercurrent throughout the novel. The contrasting character arcs of Sita and Babuni, in particular, are important in opening the floodgates towards a feminist reading of this seminal novel.
Even though the two women experience different socioeconomic situations, they are ridden by similar woes concerning familial security.
Sita's characterization showcases years of conditioned ideas that are conservative and rigid. Her outward disposition displays much forbearance and fortitude like an ideal wife of her time. But her opinions lurk as monologues in the shadows of Janak's grand philosophies.
Although Babuni succumbs to more pronounced forms of hardship in her marriage with MK, her personality reveals hints of desire and vulnerability. Nonetheless, Babuni too manages to hold great forbearance towards her husband despite his trespasses. Towards the end, her self-autonomy operates to alter the terms of her fate to ultimately collide into a love story as if it were the only redemption for a woman.
The tea garden episode also provides an insight into the feminist narratives in Darjeeling in the 1950s. Bindra and Maili are the two wives of Bhairav Prasad Khawas, who is a tea garden worker. Through them, we can draw parallels between women in the urban and rural settings of Darjeeling. The difference in socioeconomic conditions does separate the living realities of women everywhere. Despite it, a woman anywhere carries similar burdens concerning domestic dilemmas and societal validation. These pressures are so ingrained in the mental faculties of women that they often overtake her agonies and make her compromise on her relief.
The book also portrays a transitioning Darjeeling of the 1950s through the characters of Isabel, Divya, and Kanti. These young women are perhaps among the first women in Darjeeling to get an opportunity of college-level education. Despite this effort, the author generously confines the image of women to the domestic space.
“Babuni and the children were scattered all over the kitchen. Sita was perched on a wooden slat near the stove. Divya went to the other side of the stove and began to serve the meal.”
The author allows the men in the novel the mental space to delve into philosophies. The women, on the other hand, are depicted to be caught up in marital nitty-gritty. There are only a few instances of a woman using her voice in the novel, an important one being Sita’s confrontation with Jaybilas, the moneylender. Even though the motivation for such a confrontation arises from the same emotion for protecting her family, this exercise of free will is a crucial turning point in the otherwise silent demeanor of Sita.
“Sita didn’t understand any of this. She was only just starting to feel an urge to do something, to prove herself by achieving something, she hadn’t yet a chance to look back and evaluate her life.”
The fact that patriarchy knits itself into the fabric of the society and has been internalized by men and women equally can be well understood from the portrayal of Yamuna.
Yamuna's flirtatious fancies and escapist attitude makes her easily disliked by other characters and sometimes the reader. Her choices are often morally questioned, and her personality is dissected thoroughly by every other character in the novel. Her story depicts how society treats a woman who subverts the stereotypical idea of a good woman. Yamuna displays ample autonomy over her life and desires, yet we never really understand her through her voice. She is not one to gain societal sympathy or the space to showcase her emotional vulnerabilities. Perhaps it was loneliness, an unhappy marriage, or something else. The novel never allows us a retrospect into Yamuna's backstory or a perspective into what she thought about her life.
In a certain scene, MK perpetrates an act of domestic violence against Babuni. Yamuna displays her outrage over this. However, in another scene, Babuni remains silent when MK taunts Yamuna as barren and insane. This is an efficient depiction of the depth of patriarchal conditioning and its clutch over female solidarity.
In the same scene, the author also depicts society’s casual attitude towards matters of domestic violence. By referencing the famous phrase “bura buri ko jhagara, paral ko aago”/ “Quarrels between husbands and wives are momentary”, the author throws light into Darjeeling's stance as a non-intervening gazer into a woman's tribulation. This scene later turns the plot into a tragic anticlimax and costs the life of a character.
The novel successfully presents Darjeeling women and their lived realities in the 1950s. It remains a work that is to receive its due feminist readings. Overall, Aaja ramita cha is truly the Great Darjeeling novel, with intricacies of personalities, plots, and philosophies that could be dissected over and over again differently. What remains interesting is Dr. Indra Bahadur Rai's meticulous observation that allowed him to paint a panoramic picture of perspectives and plots that arise every day in Darjeeling even after 70 decades, thus creating a space for multiple discourses even today.
- Many insights for this book review have been inspired by Swareena Gurung's Reasearch Paper ( Gurung, Swareena (2019). Imagining Darjeeling is IB Rai's Aaja Ramita Chha. Master's thesis, SOAS, University of London