LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 14:8 August 2014
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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The Concept of Hypocrisy in Lakshmi Kannan’s
Parijata and Other Stories

Dr. Pauline Das

Abstract

India is a nation that is slowly ridding itself of a constricting traditional base. Writers like Lakshmi Kannan have taken the society as a background for their stories. The Indian society that is caught in a transitional phase is highlighted. The hold of tradition and the changes in the society leave the female characters to struggle to expose the hypocrisy that the society practices without any qualms. Very often it is the woman who suffers for the hypocritical behavior of the society. Being a female writer, Kannan wants to make an awakening in the minds of women to protect themselves against this attack. With a feminine sensibility the writer uncovers this negative attitude that society harbours against women. Her protagonists are decent, delicate characters who are puzzled by society’s partial measure toward them.

Key Words: Lakshmi Kannan, parijata, exploitation of women

Vehicles through Which Anomalies are Exposed

The Webster’s New Dictionary defines the term ‘hypocrisy’ as ‘assuming a false appearance of virtue’. The other terms for ‘hypocrisy’ are: insincerity; deceit; dissembling; double–talk; duplicity; falsity; imposture; lip–service; phoney ; pietism; pretense; quackery; sanctimoniousness; self–righteousness; speciousness and two–facedness.

Lakshmi Kannan’s short stories are vehicles through which the above said anomalies in the society are exposed. Very often it is the woman who suffers for the hypocritical behavior of the society. Being a female writer, Kannan wants to make an awakening in the minds of women to protect themselves against this attack. With a feminine sensibility the writer uncovers this negative attitude that society harbours against women. Her protagonists are decent, delicate characters who are puzzled by society’s partial measure toward them.

Lakshmi Kannan’s Parijata and Other Stories and India Gate and Other Stories were published in 1992 and 1993 respectively. Real life in contemporary India and the sensibility of the middle class families are presented in these stories. The double standards for children and women because of gender-bias and double standards in all walks of life become a recurrent theme.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. Pauline Das
Associate Professor
Department of English
Karunya University
Coimbatore
Tamilnadu
India
pauline@karunya.edu
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