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Rewriting Social Reform -
The Early Phase of the ‘Social’ Realist Novel in Kannada

S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph. D.

Introduction

The time period comprising the second half of the eighteenth century and the early decades of the nineteenth century was the phase of transition in Kannada literature, which saw significant departures from earlier forms and modes of literature. The emergence of literary prose, transition of Kannada language from halegannada (old Kannada) to hosagannada (new or modern Kannada) leading to the modernisation of Kannada, and the focus of literature shifting to the secular can be seen as the most transformative of these departures during this transitory phase. The novel, which gradually evolved as a new and distinct genre during this period, epitomised these departures as its form could incorporate all the major changes that were taking place in Kannada literature; and the novel subsequently emerged as the genre most representative of this transition.

Translation and Rewriting

Translation emerged as one of the most important literary activities during this period and a critical catalyst of this transition and is identified here as a separate literary activity fostered by the zeal to modernise Kannada language and literature. ‘Translation’ in the colonial context becomes a somewhat limited term that is unable to capture the entire range of different activities like adaptation, paraphrasing, editing, commentating, summarizing, appropriation, manipulation and so on. The term ‘translation’ itself is polysemic. But ‘rewriting’ is able to include ‘original’ writings mediated through commentaries, summaries, anthologies, and direct ‘translation’ activities such as adaptation and paraphrasing.

Andre Lefevere uses the term “rewriting” in a way that brings forth the many transformations that rewriting effects during a phase of interaction between different languages. Lefevere explains:

. . . how the interaction of writing and rewriting is ultimately responsible, not just for the canonization of specific authors and the rejection of others, but also for the evolution of a given literature, since rewritings are often designed precisely to push a given literature in a certain direction. Think, for example, of the often-quoted rewritings of T’ang poetry in Pound’s Cathay, which have helped to push the evolution of modern English-language poetry in a certain direction. (Lefevere, 1985: 219-220)

It must also be remembered that the time period indicated above was also the period when the struggle for Indian independence was at its peak and as a consequence, nationalism, was at its height. Revival of history and a valourisation of the past were some of the important discourses of nationalism and this was reflected in Kannada literature through a flood of historical novels translated from Marathi mainly by Galaganatha (Rao, 2006-07) and from Bengali mainly by B. Venkatacharya (Rao, 2007). This was also the time when social reform movements had captured the imagination of the intelligentsia across the length and breadth of British-ruled India. And this was reflected in Kannada literature through the ‘social’ realist novel, where, in the initial days, the plot revolved around the theme of social reform. In fact, these two types of novels are fictionalized rewritings of the two dominant political positions during the later colonial phase—that of the extremists and of the moderates. Over time, revival of history and reform of Hindu society, both became powerful discourses of nationalism.

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

S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph.D. (CIEFL)
Professor and Head
Department of Humanities and Sciences
Aurora's Scientific and Technological Institute
Aushapur, Ghatkesar,
Hyderabad 501301
Andhra Pradesh
India
esjeisiri.row@gmail.com

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