CHAPTER-III SPIRITUAL QUEST IN A) THE ALCHEMIST B) JOURNEY TO ITHACA C) BARDANA

Transcription

1 CHAPTER-III SPIRITUAL QUEST IN A) THE ALCHEMIST B) JOURNEY TO ITHACA C) BARDANA

2 An artificial demarcation of subject matter and methodology, a mechanistic concept of sources and influence (and) a motivation by cultural nationalism - however generous these seem to me the symptoms of the long drawn out crisis of comparative literature. - Rene Wellek.

3 191 A) SPIRITUAL QUEST IN THE ALCHEMIST: I. Plot Construction of The Alchemist: The Alchemist is an exciting novel that bursts with optimism. With over twenty million copies sold worldwide, and translated into 42 languages, The Alchemist has achieved the status of modem classic. Let us consider the elements of the plot: Santiago, an Andalusian boy, lives with his parents in Spain. His parents wanted him to become a priest, and thereby a source of pride for a simple farm family. But ever since he had been a child, he had wanted to know the world. His purpose in life was to travel. One afternoon, he summons up the courage to tell his father that he does not want to become a priest. His father tries to persuade him from his intension saying that amongst us, the only ones who travel are the shepherds (9). Santiago becomes a shepherd and sets out on a tour of the world. He owns a flock of sheep and is happy as he is able every day to live out his dream. One night he dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian Pyramids. He goes to an old gypsy woman who interprets dreams. The old gyspy woman only asks him to go to the Pyramids in Egypt. She is unable to interpret the dream because it is in the language of the world (15). This upsets the boy and he decides that he would never again believe in dreams. He goes in the market for something to eat and to trade his book for one that is thicker leaving his sheep at the gates of the city. At market, he meets an old man who tries to strike up a conversation with him. During their conversation Santiago learns that he is Melchizedek, the king of Salem. The old man is very wise and perceptive and knows things about other people that are not publicly known. Santiago is amazed by his uncanny ability as the old man

4 192 says, Give me one-tenth of your sheep [----- ] and I will tell you how to find the hidden treasure (21). The old man says, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. The old man takes one tenth of his flock for he tells him how to find the hidden treasure. The old man asks the boy to follow the omens in order to find the treasure. Then he gives him two stones - Urim and Thummim saying that when he is unable to read omens, the stones will help him to make the decisions. Thus, he enables the boy to follow his destiny through to its conclusion. Santiago sells his sheep and arrives in the markets of Tangiers, in Africa. He meets a young man and tells him about his treasure and requests him to take him there if he can. To reach the Pyramids one has to cross the entire desert and for that the young man takes all the money from Santiago to buy two camels. At the market Santiago is distracted for a few moments, looking at the beautiful sword, meanwhile the newcomer vanishes taking all his money with him. Lamenting, he walks slowly through the market and helps a candy seller to assemble his stall. During assembling the stall, one of them has spoken Arabic and the other Spanish - and in spite of it they have understood each other perfectly well. Now he realizes that he could do the same thing the old man had done - sense whether a person is near to or far from his destiny, just by looking at them. The next day Santiago works in the shop of crystal merchant. He proves to be a good omen for the merchant and the merchant asks him to work for him. Like every devout Muslim, the merchant had the wish to visit the holy city of Mecca, but he is afraid that if his dream is realized, he will have no reason to go on living, the merchant has preferred just to dream about Mecca. From the merchant he learns that Egypt is thousands of Kilometers away from Tangiers. He works in the shop for a year, earns

5 193 enough money and joins a huge caravan being prepared for a crossing of the Sahara. There he meets a well read Englishman who is impatient to meet the alchemist. In the oasis the Englishman asks the alchemist how to turn metal into gold, whereupon the alchemist tells him, Go and try (99). The Englishman gets the inspiration even in the words Go and Try and with greater enthusiasm, he starts heating the metal in the oasis. When the caravan comes to a huge oasis, and a young girl called Fatima, comes near a well to fetch the water, there Santiago meets her. Fatima is the daughter of the prophet. Afterwards, they proclaim their love for each other. However, Fatima asks Santiago to undertake further journey in order to fulfill his dream. Here Santiago promises her to come back to her after getting the hidden treasure. Santiago meets his soul-mate, Fatima, in the oasis of the desert. His love for her enables him to discover his treasure. Due to tribal war the caravan could not continue its journey for some days. One day, seeing the flight of the hawks, he visualizes an army riding into the oasis. He approaches the tribal chieftains and speaks about his vision, his vision comes true and he is made a counselor of the oasis. While returning from the tent of chieftains he meets the title character - alchemist. The alchemist pushes him forward saying, Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure (122). Santiago wants to stay at the oasis, as Fatima is worth more than treasure. But the alchemist disagrees saying love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. So he follows the alchemist in search of his destiny. The alchemist asks the boy to immerse his self in desert - by listening to his heart. He encounters many dangers and finally they cross the mountain and are only two days from the Pyramids. At this crucial point they are taken to a nearby military station by some horsemen, supposing them the

6 194 spies. The alchemist denies it and says that the boy is an alchemist who understands the forces of nature, and wants to show them his extraordinary powers. He can also turn himself into the wind. This frightens Santiago. The tribal chief wants to test Santiago s ability to become wind. Three days are given to Santiago to turn himself into the wind by the tribal chief. If he fails, he has to face his death. The first day passes. There is major battle nearby and Santiago finds dead soldiers are replaced by others and thus life goes on. He realizes that death doesn t change anything. He climbs to the top of a cliff and spends the second day looking out over the desert, and listening to his heart. On the third day, he takes the chief and his officers to the cliff where he has been on the previous day. The desert, the wind and the sun help him. Even the wind and the sun are unable to transform him into the wind. The wind screams with delight finding that the sun s wisdom has its limitations and blows harder than ever. Then the sun asks the boy to speak to the hand that wrote all. The boy turns to the hand that wrote all and senses that the universe has fallen silent and he decides not to speak. Suddenly, a current of love rushes from his heart and he begins to pray. He realizes the oneness of God and Man. He realizes God as the self within and also as the universal spirit. The following day they reach a monastery. The alchemist takes the boy to the kitchen of the monastery, turns some lead into gold and separates it into four parts. He gives one of the parts to the monk, second to the boy, keeps one part for himself. He hands over the fourth part to the monk saying that it is for the boy, if he ever needs it. Then the alchemist leaves the company of the boy and they ride toward their respective goals. Santiago rides along through the desert, climbs a dune and reaches the Pyramids of Egypt. He begins to dig into the dune. After some time a

7 195 group of refugees approach him. They search his belongings and find the piece of gold and make him continue digging. At sunrise they beat him, having found nothing. The leader of the group asks him why he is digging and Santiago tells them about his recurrent dream. Thereupon the leader says him that two years ago, right there on that spot (near the Pyramids) he had a recurrent dream too. In his dream, he had dreamt that he should travel to the fields of Spain and look for a ruined church, where shepherds and their sheep slept and if he dug at the roots of the sycamore, he would find a hidden treasure. Santiago s heart bursts with joy as now he knows where his treasure is. He arrives back at the abandoned church in Spain and digs at the base of the sycamore, and gets gold coins, precious stones, gold masks and stone statues embedded with jewels. At last he realizes that life really is generous to those who pursue their destiny. The wind begins to blow; it is levanter, the wind that comes from Africa. He senses the touch of the first kiss of Fatima in the wind, smiles and decides to go to Fatima

8 196 II. Thematic Concerns and the Supremacy of the Theme of Spiritual Quest in The Alchemist: The Alchemist is a classic work of art and a number of themes stand out of it. It is basically a novel of quest. With it mingles the theme of journey, theme of love and theme of helping each other. These themes are symbolic and complimentary to the main theme of spiritual quest. A detailed discussion will make it clear. Despite the multiplicity of themes, the main theme may be said to be the spiritual quest. Though several themes surface in the novel as the protagonist embarks on a journey to search for the hidden treasure, they are central to the protagonist s search. The protagonist s quest is akin to an ancient hero Odysseus who undertakes an arduous journey into some dark, unknown and unexplored region where he goes through self-introspection accompanied with several tests of his strength and willpower. In the process, he gains some power of self-revelation. Malcolm Boyd, author of Are you Running, With Me, Jesus? and Modem Maturity columnist has described the novel as, This fable is a roseate amalgam of spiritual quest, existential puzzle, lovely sensitivity, and deep strength (Paulo, 1988 : i). Sharing his thoughts on spirituality, life and ethics, Paulo touches us with his philosophy and invites us to go on an exiting journey of our own. The theme of journey is the leitmotif of The Alchemist. Throughout the history of civilization, the journey motif is dominant in literature. This journey motif has haunted the literary mind from time immemorial. Paulo s The Alchemist is a novel that deals with journey motif. Three journeys form the core of The Alchemist: Santiago s journey from his home in Spain to the markets of Tangiers and into the Egyptian

9 197 desert, and the Englishman s journey from his homeland to the Sahara desert in search of the alchemist. The third journey supplements the first, a journey undertaken by the alchemist to help Santiago to find out his hidden treasure. All these journeys ultimately indicate that the value is not what you find at the journey s end, but the significance lies in one s undertaking the journey itself, the journey being more important than the destination, the search more meaningful than the object of search. It is the urge to search that makes a man of an ordinary biologically human entity; the search creates the soul. This is Paulo s chief concern throughout the novel The Alchemist. Santiago s journey to the Pyramids of Egypt forms the core of the novel. His journey is uni-dimensional. It is uni-dimensional because right from the beginning Santiago s aims are fixed; his goal is clear. Bom in a simple family his purpose in life was to travel. [---- ] ever since he had been a child, he had wanted to know the world, [ ]. That he wanted to travel (8). He rebels against his parents wish who wanted him to become a priest (8). One afternoon, he summons up the courage to tell his father that he does not want to become a priest. He decides to try other paths feeling that priesthood does not give him happiness. When Santiago expresses his will to travel and see how the people in other countries live. His father tells him Amongst us, die only ones who travel are the shepherds. Santiago answers well, then I ll be a shepherd! (9). So Santiago becomes the shepherd and sets out on a tour of the world. Thus, Santiago represents the image of Jesus Christ. One night he dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian Pyramids and leaves his homeland to literally follow his dream (The search for treasure and the symbolic journey underline the novel s spiritual implications from the outset). Like Dante in

10 198 the Dark Wood before his spiritual journey, the protagonist no longer knows the way. It is interesting to note here that Santiago of The Alchemist, like Odysseus returns to his homeland. Another significant journey that contributes a lot to the theme of journey is a journey of a well-read Englishman. The Englishman s journey is aimed at finding the one true language of the universe (68). First he has studied Esperanto (an artificial language devised in 1987 as an international medium of communication), then the world s religions and now he wants to know the science of alchemy. He has undertaken a long journey from his homeland to the Sahara to find the alchemist. When he learns from Santiago that Santiago is looking for a treasure, he says, In a way, so am I (73). Thus, both are on a pilgrimage to achieve their respective treasures. The aim of the Englishman s journey is to find out the alchemist who knows the art of turning lead into gold. In Al-Fayoum (Oasis) he meets the alchemist who tells the Englishman Go and Try (99). Here the Englishman s journey ends. However the Englishman says, It was my fear of failure that first kept me from attempting the Master Work. Now, I m beginning what I could have started ten years ago. But I m happy at least that I didn t wait twenty years (103). It is true that there is a mysterious chain that links one thing to another. The third journey which is symbolic and significant enough is of the alchemist and Santiago. The alchemist undertakes the journey to help Santiago to find out the hidden treasure. His journey supplements the journey of Santiago. He just pushes Santiago towards his goal. A studentteacher relationship develops between Santiago and the alchemist, and it

11 199 clarifies much of the boy s misguided agenda and makes him to stay true to his dream. Further, the king of Salem, the image of a gypsy woman, caravan, camel driver and also the wind contribute a lot to the theme of journey. The journeys undertaken by Santiago, the Englishman and the caravan demonstrate one common theme that is nothing is given to mankind gratis, everything is to be earned. In life this earning requires journey. Many times the journey is for material gains for examples the journeys of the people in the caravan, the merchants, the Englishman are for their material gains. However, sometimes the journey is undertaken for the knowledge and understanding of the universe and human life. Such a journey is the journey for self-realization (knowing oneself). The journey undertaken by the wind in the novel connects the first type of journey with the other i.e. journey for the spiritual quest. The Alchemist is quest novel as the quest theme predominates the novel. A comprehensive review of the novel brings forth four persons quests. They are: Santiago s quest for treasure; the crystal merchant s quest to go to Mecca; the Englishman s quest to know the universal language and to find out an alchemist who knows it and lastly Fatima s quest for Santiago. In his quest for treasure Santiago is being constantly subjected to tests of his persistence and courage (93). He is pushed forward by the signs and omens left by God along his path [----- ] to indicate what he should do (93). Regarding the theme of quest Anthony Robbins, author of Awaken the Giant Within, has said that the novel is A remarkable tale about the most magical of all journeys: the quest to fulfill one s destiny (Paulo, 1988: i). Paulo has presented Santiago as an adventurer in quest of his treasure (44). In his quest of his treasure his

12 200 life and his path had always provided him with enough omens (176). His quest of treasure is fulfilled at last and he learns that life really is generous to those who pursue their destiny (176). Even after the spiritual enlightenment Santiago continues his journey towards the treasure because the alchemist has told him, Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense (122). Through the crystal merchant s quest to go to Mecca, Paulo has presented the common man s philosophy. Like every devout Muslim, the merchant had the wish to visit the holy city of Mecca. Now it s the thought of Mecca that keeps him alive. He is afraid that if his dream is realised, he will have no reason to go on living. He hasn t the courage to follow his dream. He says, I just want to dream about Mecca [ ] I m afraid that it would all be a disappointment, so I prefer just to dream about it (57). This is the tragic drama of man s life, who knows that he can achieve greatness but denies doing so, and ends up living a life of void. However, only few people choose to follow the road that has been for them, and find happiness while searching for their destiny. One finds the parallel between Santiago s quest for treasure and die crystal merchant s quest for Mecca. The merchant only contemplates his journey and doesn t undertake it, while Santiago undertakes the journey until its fulfillment. Symbolically, the merchant introduces the theme of quest; the Englishman follows it to a greater extent with the possibilities and potentials of its fulfillment; but Santiago continues his journey until its true fulfillment. Thus, Paulo indicates the different stages of the theme of the quest. As already pointed out, the Englishman s quest is to know the universal language and to find out the alchemist. There is no difference

13 201 between Santiago s quest for treasure and Englishman s quest for alchemist, who knows the art of turning lead into gold. And lastly, there is Fatima s quest for Santiago. Fatima is the prophet s daughter. She is also a woman of desert and as a woman of desert she wants Santiago to wander as free as the wind. It is her quest that Santiago should follow his dream of hidden treasure. The theme of helping each other throughout the novel is also important. The king of Salem, Melchizedek, says to Santiago, When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it (23). This is the core of the novel s philosophy and the leitmotif that echoes all through The Alchemist. It is optimistic thinking and the novel bursts with optimism. The king of Salem helps Santiago to make his own decisions. He enables him to follow his destiny through to its conclusion and hopes that the boy would be successful. Further, he asks him to follow the omens, in order to find the treasure. He also gives him two stones (Urim and Thummim) saying that they will help him in reading the omens. Thus, the old man points Santiago in the direction of his quest. Santiago becomes friendly with the camel driver, who proves to be a spiritual messenger for Santiago as he says, People need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want. [---- ] we are afraid of what we have, [---- ]. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life histories and the history of the world were written by the same hand (79-80). Thus, he pushes the boy towards his goal. The sheep help Santiago in learning certain things of nature - that the presence of a certain bird means that a snake is nearby and that a certain shrub is a sign that there is water in the area. In this way the sheep

14 202 help in teaching the language of the nature to a shepherd boy and the shepherd helps the sheep by taking them everyday to new pastures. Further, in the oasis Santiago helps the Englishman to find out the alchemist. The alchemist helps the Englishman by removing the fear of failure (103) from his heart. The role of the alchemist is highly symbolic in the sense that he helps the boy in following his destiny through to its conclusion. Even Santiago helps the tribal chieftains by foretelling about the attack on the oasis. The chieftain gives him enough gold for saving their lives and makes him the counselor of the oasis. The alchemist s falcon helps the alchemist by bringing to him the food to eat. The monk allows the alchemist and Santiago to stay in his monastery. The monk also allows the alchemist to make use of his kitchen. The alchemist goes in the kitchen and turns a piece of lead (given by the monk) into gold. The alchemist divides the gold into four pieces and gives one to the monk as a reward for the help he has rendered to them. In this context Paulo explains the significance of theme of helping through the following dialogue: This is for you, he said, holding one of the parts out to the monk. It s for your generosity to the pilgrims. But this payment goes well beyond my generosity, the monk responded. Don t say that again. Life might be listening, and give you less the next time. The alchemist turned to the boy. This is for you. To make up for what you gave to the general. [ ]. And this is for me, said the alchemist, keeping one of the parts. Because I have to return to the desert, where there are tribal wars.

15 203 He took the fourth part and handed it to the monk. This is for the boy. If he ever needs it (163-64). Here, each of the characters tries to help the other. Even the elements of the nature - the wind, the sun, the desert and its sand and above all the hand that wrote all* - help Santiago in fulfilling his destiny. At last, it is the leader of the refugee group that helps Santiago in finding out the treasure. He tells about his recurring dream and Santiago learns about the exact location of his treasure. Here the leader says: Two years ago, right here on this spot, I had a recurrent dream, too. I dreamed that I should travel to the fields of Spain and look for a ruined church where shepherds and their sheep slept. In my dream, there was a sycamore growing out of the ruins of the sacristy, and I was told that, if I dug at the roots of the sycamore, I would find a hidden treasure (171-72). Thus, the Gypsy woman, the king, the candy-seller, the crystal merchant, an Englishman, Fatima, the tribal chiefs, the monk, and an alchemist all help Santiago in achieving his treasure. Above all this, the omens help Santiago in understanding the universal language. The thematic richness of the novel is strengthened by the current of the recurring term omen, as the term omen is constantly under discussion throughout the novel (pp 37, 49, 54, 68, 72, 91, 97, 125, 126, 169) which has 177 pages. Then, there is the theme of love. The theme of love is developed upto its highest point in the novel. A faint glimpse of this theme is seen in

16 204 the relationship between Santiago and the merchant s daughter, the girl with the raven hair (6). Further, it is developed through the relationship of Santiago and Fatima. Santiago meets Fatima at the oasis. Their love for each other is love at first sight. In the very first meeting they exchange their hearts to each-other. At a well Santiago approaches Fatima to ask about the alchemist. At that moment, when he looks into her dark eyes, he learns the most important part of the language that the entire world speaks - the language of love. She smiles, and it is certainly an omen for Santiago, the omen he had been waiting, without even knowing he was, for all his life. The omen he had sought to find with his sheep and in his books, in the crystals and in the silence of the desert (97). Santiago learns the language of the desert and in the same way he learns the universal language of love present in the eyes of Fatima. Without such love, one s dreams would have no meaning. He meets his twin-soul - Fatima and discovers that love is the core of existence and creation. It is interesting to note here A.N. Dhar s observation regarding earthly love. He observes, Most mystics have looked upon earthly love as being basic to spirituality, having in it the potential of transfiguring into divine love (Dhar, 2002: 70). This observation is significant as Santiago realizes that his love for her would enable him to discover every treasure in the world (99). God is the source of all forms of human love; in loving our fellow-men, we indirectly love God. God is reachable through love. The love between Santiago and Fatima is far beyond earthly love; it is spiritual, platonic and not possessive. It is his love for Fatima that gives him the essential strength to turn himself into the wind because love is the force that transforms and improves the soul of the world (158). His love for Fatima

17 205 makes him realize the oneness of Man, Nature and God. Thus, it is basically a spiritual love. Santiago as well as an Englishman is presented in the novel as the seeker of enlightenment. This is made crystal clear in the interaction between Santiago and the Englishman. In one of the Englishman s books, Santiago first learns about the alchemists - the men who believed that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties and what was left would be the soul of the world (84). The Englishman further adds to his knowledge, The alchemists spent so much time close to the fire that gradually they gave up the vanities of the world. They discovered that the purification of the metals had led to a purification of themselves (84-85). Through the language of alchemy Paulo has suggested the gradual process of spiritual enlightenment of Santiago. It is significant to note here that the Englishman wants to be an alchemist and Santiago becomes an alchemist. Thus, while the one is on the proper path of spiritual enlightenment (Englishman), the other receives the enlightenment (Santiago). Thus, they emerge as the seekers of spiritual enlightenment. It is significant to note that it is the Englishman who tells Santiago, They (The alchemists) believed that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties and what was left would be the soul of the world (84). The actual illustration of this is provided by the novelist in the form of the alchemist who travels with Santiago from the oasis to the monastery of the monk. The alchemist teaches Santiago the language of the universe and helps him to turn

18 206 himself into the wind when the tribal chief insists on it. A close study of the character of the alchemist reveals that he understands the vanities of the world and keeps himself away from them. This is clear when he asks Santiago to undertake his journey without getting entangled in the pleasures of the oasis. It is the alchemist who tells Santiago what will happen if Santiago remains at oasis. Here he speaks in terms of the years. During the first two years he will enjoy the respect and the power that will be given to him by the people of the oasis. He will also get the pleasure of his married life in the company of Fatima. But in the next two years according to the alchemist he will have entirely different experience. In this context the alchemist significantly points out: During the third year, the omens will continue to speak of your treasure and your destiny. You ll walk around, night after night, at the oasis, and Fatima will be unhappy because she ll feel it was she who interrupted your quest. But you will love her, and she ll return your love. You ll remember that she never asked you to stay, because a woman of the desert knows that she must await her man. So you won t blame her. But many times you ll walk the sands of the desert, thinking that may be you could have left... that you could have trusted more in your love for Fatima. Because what kept you at the oasis was your own fear that you might never come back. At that point, the omens will tell you that your treasure is buried forever. Then, sometime during the fourth year, the omens will abandon you, because you ve stopped listening to them. The tribal chieftains will see that, and you ll be dismissed from your position as counselor. But, by then, you ll be a rich merchant, with many

19 207 camels and a great deal of merchandise. You ll spend the rest of your days knowing that you didn t pursue your destiny, and that now it s too late. You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. If he abandons that pursuit, it s because it wasn t true love... the love that speaks the Languages of the World (125-26). This perception of the alchemist is significant since it explains the difference between that which is real and inevitable and that which is full a vanity ( Vanities of the World ). It is here the theme of the spiritual quest gathers momentum. The culmination of the theme of the spiritual quest is to be seen in the encounter between Santiago and the elements. The tribal chief and his men present a challenge before Santiago. Santiago has to turn himself into wind or else he will have to loose his life. They have also set a time limit of three days for the test. On the third day Santiago speaks with the desert and they discuss the meaning of love: But that s why you created the game in the first place, the boy answered. To nourish the falcon. And the falcon then nourishes man. And, eventually, man will nourish your sands, where the game will once again flourish. That s how the world goes. So is that what love is? Yes, that s what love is. It s what makes the game become the falcon, the falcon become man, and man, in his turn, the desert. It s what turns lead into gold, and makes the gold return to the earth (152).

20 208 dialogue. Thus, the spiritual meaning of the term love is suggested in this Afterwards Santiago enters into dialogue with the wind: You can t be the wind, the wind said. We re two very different things. That s not true, the boy said. I learned the alchemist s secrets in my travels. I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the same hand, and we have the same soul. I want to be like you able to reach every comer of the world, cross the seas, blow away the sands that cover my treasure, and carry the voice of the woman I love. [ ] When your are loved, you can do anything in creation. When you are loved, there s no need at all to understand what s happening, because everything happens within you, and even men can turn themselves into the wind (154-55). As the wind confesses that it is not capable to turn Santiago into the wind they go to the sun. Santiago tells the sun: ---- its not love to be static like the desert, nor is it love to roam the world like the wind. And it s not love to see everything from a distance, like you do. Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World. When I first reached through to it, I thought the Soul of the World was perfect. But later, I could see that it was like other aspects of creation, and had its own passions and wars. It is we who nourish the Soul of the World, and the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we

21 209 become better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that s where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are (pp ). When Santiago requests the sun to turn him into wind the sun replies: Nature knows me as the wisest being in creation, the sun said. But I don t know how to turn you into the wind [ ] Speak to the hand that wrote all, said the sun (159). Then Santiago goes to the hand that wrote all. In this context Paulo writes: The boy turned to the hand that wrote all. As he did so, he sensed that the universe had fallen silent, and he decided not to speak. A current of love rushed from his heart, and the boy began to pray. It was a prayer that he had never said before, because it was a prayer without words or pleas. His prayer didn t give thanks for his sheep having found new pastures; it didn t ask that the boy be able to sell more crystal; and it didn t beseech that the woman he had met continue to await his return. In the silence, the boy understood that the desert, the wind, and the sun were also trying to understand the signs written by the hand, and were seeking to follow their paths, and to understand what had been written on a single emerald. He saw that omens were scattered throughout the earth and in space, and that there was no reason or significance attached to their appearance; he could see that not the deserts, nor the winds, nor the sun, nor

22 210 people knew why they had been created. But that the hand had a reason for all of this, and that only the hand could perform miracles, or transform the sea into a desert... or a man into the wind. Because only the hand understood that it was a larger design that had moved the universe to the point at which six days of creation had evolved into a Master Work. The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles ( ). Thus, the theme of the spiritual quest has its culmination in the communion between Santiago and the hand that wrote all. The description of the prayer that occurs in the above quotation is very significant. The prayer is neither about more crystals, nor about the waiting of Fatima. The prayer is without words and without pleas. In the silence, Santiago understands that the desert, the wind, and the sun are also trying to understand the signs written by the hand, and are seeking to follow their paths, and to understand what has been written on a single emerald. It is significant to note that ultimately Santiago realizes that the soul of God was his own Soul (160). It is this realization on the part of Santiago that provides the ultimate spiritual significance to the novel. In this larger scheme of the universe and the understanding of the purpose and the role of the hand that wrote all, all other things discussed above play their own roles. Therefore, they are

23 211 always supplementary and complementary to the principle theme of the novel that is the spiritual quest. The other themes - the theme of journey, the theme of quest, the theme of helping, the theme of love - essentially and significantly contribute towards the ultimate realization of the universal spirit. Obviously enough, the theme of spiritual quest is always superior to and more significant than all other themes. It is die theme of spiritual quest that provides the novel its essential significance and the spiritual height.

24 212 III. Use of Symbolism and Imagery in The Alchemist Paulo employs a large network of images and symbols in The Alchemist. His use of symbolism and imagery heightens as the narrative progresses. The symbolism and imagery of The Alchemist helps develop characterization, direct the plot and reinforces the central idea and themes of the novel. It is in terms of images and symbolism that the novel The Alchemist most succeeds. Symbolism in The Alchemist supports the main theme of spiritual quest. With this symbolic masterpiece Coelho states that we can not avoid our destinies, and urges people to follow their dreams, because our mission on Earth is to find God, that is happiness, fulfillment, and the ultimate purpose of creation. The symbolism of the novel is parallel to the symbolism and the symbolic language of alchemism, and similarly the symbolism of dreams is presented as God s language (15). Journey appears to be a notable symbol in The Alchemist signifying that wisdom is found in the journey and not in destination. Santiago s symbolic journey obviously refers to Homer s legendary hero Odysseus who, prefers to travel around in order to discover new places, to encounter fresh adventures and to venture into the vast realm of the unknown with a view to satisfy his restless spirit as much as to search for a stable meaning in life. After a decade of wandering here and there, Odysseus returns home. Like Odysseus, Santiago undertakes journey as his purpose in life was to travel (8). Ever since he had been a child, he had wanted to know the world, and this was much more important to him than knowing God and learning about man s sins (8). He rebels against his parents wish, who wanted him to be a priest and becomes a shepherd. All this is highly symbolic from the spiritual and mystical point of view. It is a fact that

25 213 things exist in their essence even before they are materially realised and named (Desai, 1995: IX). He dreams of Pyramids of Egypt, it transports him to find out hidden treasure and he undertakes a great journey to fulfill his dream. Journey has been an archetypal motif in literature across space and time. The symbolic journey of Santiago to Pyramids is the recurrent theme of the novel. From his home in Spain Santiago journeys to the markets of Tangiers, and from there into the Egyptian desert, where a fateful encounter with an alchemist brings him at last to self-understanding and spiritual enlightenment. Thus, it is the soul s journey to enlightenment and awakening. Paulo Coelho seems to be thinking in terms of the symbolic language of alchemy throughout The Alchemist. In one of the Englishman s books, Santiago first learns about the alchemists - men who believed that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties and what was left would be the Soul of the World (84). Here the Soul of the World stands for gold as well as for purity. Metal stands for spiritual seeker. In the process of spiritual enlightenment the spiritual seeker frees himself from the negative thoughts and what is left is a truly enlightened man i.e. the soul of the world. In terms of the symbolic language of alchemy Coelho seems to suggest the gradual process of spiritual enlightenment. Further, the Englishman adds to his knowledge, The alchemists spent so much time close to the fire that gradually they gave up the vanities of the world. They discovered that the purification of the metals had led to a purification of themselves (84-85). This symbolic language of alchemy is parallel to the symbolism of the novel. This suggests that in order to

26 214 perceive the Divine the devotee has to undergo a Sadhana to achieve purging of the self or the ego into universal spirit. He has to undergo alchemical transformation to deserve the rare gift and the elevation that he seeks as his goal. Here the fire signifies the pain and penance the alchemist has to undergo to achieve his reward - Philosopher s Stone and Elixir of Life. Philosopher s Stone and Elixir of life stand for spiritual enlightenment by which one can lead other men for that kind of enlightenment. It is a belief that the Philosopher s Stone converts baser metals into gold. What Coelho suggests here in terms of alchemical symbolism is the gradual process of spiritual transformation. He suggests that through spiritual initiation, one is transformed, and raised to a higher state of consciousness. As the Englishman tells him about the process of purification of the metals, he suddenly remembers the crystal merchant, who has said that it is good thing for the boy to clean the crystal pieces, so that he could free himself from negative thoughts. Now Santiago becomes more and more convinced that, alchemy could be learned in one s daily life (85). This is what exactly Coelho seems to suggest in terms of alchemical symbolism. This conviction itself is a great enlightenment on the part of Santiago. In the novel Coelho seems to say that if the aspirant searches for the Divine sincerely within his own body, instead of seeking Him outside himself, he will realise the self soon and then view the body as the indwelling place of God. Through such experience the seeker attains deification. He experiences the uniqueness of all things. In the novel Santiago realizes the oneness of God and Man when he is asked to turn himself into the wind. He requests the wind to turn him into the wind.

27 215 The dialogue between Santiago and the wind reflects this: You can t be the wind, the wind said, We are two different things. That s not true, the boy said. I learned the alchemist s secrets in my travel. I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the starts and everything created in the universe. [ ]. The boy reached through to the soul of the world, and saw that it was a part of the soul of God. And he saw that the soul of God was his own Soul (160). Santiago attains this deification on the top of a cliff. He realizes God as the self within and also as the universal spirit - on the top of a cliff. In this sense the cliff is symbolic. It is on the cliff he becomes an alchemist because an alchemist is a man who understands nature and the world (147). Here the cliff suggests the zenith of spirituality. In the novel the Gypsy woman, the king, the thief, the candy seller, the crystal merchant, the Englishman, Fatima and the alchemist all are introduced with a symbolic undertone. If Santiago would not have meet the Gypsy woman, the king, the thief, or----- (175), he would not have undertaken his journey and attained the spiritual perfection. The role of the alchemist is highly symbolic in the novel. In the novel he performs the role of a teacher to Santiago. It is he, who pushes him towards spiritual perfection. Santiago thanks him for his teachings and the alchemist says I only invoked what you already knew (162). It is the alchemist who helps Santiago to withdraw his mind from the external world and direct its attention inward, on the self. Santiago takes the alchemists precept as God s word and it brings his transformation.

28 216 Santiago climbs the dune at the time of night and finds the Pyramids of Egypt. The night here stands for an important symbol, suggesting the spiritual state of denial and deprivation, the pain and agony through which the soul must pass for its purification before it attains illumination. Throughout the night, Santiago, digs at the place he has chosen, further, the refugee make him continue digging and on finding nothing they begin to beat him. Paulo writes He was bruised and bleeding, [----- ] and he felt that death was near (171). This is highly symbolic. The aspirant is believed to pass through a very critical transitional stage before he attains perfection. He dies into life almost literally and metaphorically too, in this critical phase. Further, the leader of the group of refugee tells him about his own dream and thereupon Santiago attains the final stage of his enlightenment. He learns where his treasure is and becomes happy. All these things happen at dawn. This actually heralds for him the spiritual dawn - a mystical state of joy that inevitably follows the dark night. Through, this symbolism, Coelho is able to make the readers feel they are participating in all that is happening to the protagonist, he is successful in creating the desired impact on his readers.... Two aspects of the natural world - the two stones, Urim and Tptnmim, and the hawks - work together :o provide powerful symbols in the novel. The two stones play a vital role in the symbolic significance of the novel. They are used as omens. They help Santiago to come out of the dilemma, whenever he is put into. Further, the flight of the hawks is believed to be an omen. Just as folklore indicates that birds may be omens - signs of what is about to occur - so the hawks in The Alchemist take up the predictive role. The protagonist sees ;he hawks flying overhead and one dive down on the other and thus predicts of the attack on the oasis.

29 217 The brief story of the spoon full of the two drops of the oils contributes a lot to the symbolism of the novel. The wise man asks the boy who wants to know the secrets of happiness, to carry two drops of oil in a spoon while looking at the things in his palace. The boy is not allowed to drop the drops of oil in the spoon; however, the boy cannot fulfill the condition. At the end the wise man says, The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon (34). While suggesting the meaning of the symbolism of the story Paulo remarks, A shepherd may like to travel, but he should never forget about his sheep (34). A man may undertake or do anything in his life but he should not loose sight of the spiritual power within him that can be the symbolic meaning of the story. This story has direct bearing on the symbolic meaning of the novel. Santiago, therefore, is constantly reminded of his dream and symbolically enough he has been encouraged throughout the story to pursue his dream of treasure. A statement having a great symbolic significance, occurs every now and then in the development of the novel. It is as follows when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it (23). The entire plot of the novel is designed to prove the statement. Therefore the gypsy woman, the king of Salem, the crystal merchant, the camel driver, the Englishman, Fatima, the alchemist and the leader of the refugee at the Pyramids all help Santiago to realize his dream. This is the structural symbolism of the novel. Another brief story symbolically mentioned in the novel is about a man and his two sons, told by the alchemist to Santiago. The man once saw an angel in his dream telling him, that the words of one of his sons would be learned and repeated throughout the world for all generations to

30 218 come (165). One of. the two sons was a poet and the other was in the military. Afterwards the military man became a Centurion and the other continued to write poetry. The military man traveled a lot in order to get a medicine for the illness of his servant. He then came to a rabbi, the son of God, famous for giving medicines for the human diseases. A rabbi expressed his will to visit the house of the roman centurion and the roman centurion said, My lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But only speak a word and my servant will be healed (167). These words have never been forgotten by the people. It is interesting to note that these immortal words are not uttered of the poet, but of the military man. In this context the alchemist remarks, No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn t know it (167). The symbolic meaning of his brief short story has close connections to the plot of the novel. To get the medicine for the servant is the goal of the military man and he undertakes a journey to achieve his goal, here the journey of military man and that of Santiago are identical. Both are successful in achieving their goals. Both have been guided and helped by the divine characters (the rabbi and the alchemist). The philosophy of the crystal merchant is also symbolic. For the crystal merchant Santiago s cleaning the crystals is not a cleaning work as usual. According to him it drives away the negative thoughts from their hearts. The other significant symbolic aspects of the novel are revealed through the images of the wind and sound, Urim and Thummim, the sheep, the sun and the hand, Emerad Tablet, the image of the woman of the desert, the alchemist s circle around the snake, and the grain of sand, image

31 219 of the desert. Sheep teach Santiago the language of the nature and the universe. They teach him to predict the place of water and presence of snake. Symbolically they are the first who teach him the language of the universe. A farmer s boy becomes a shepherd thus Santiago symbolically represents the image of Christ. The image of the wind dominates the entire novel. The image of the wind occurs for the first time in the novel in the form of levanter, when Santiago sits on the top of wall of Tarifa. The levanter comes from the Levant at the eastern end of the Mediterranean. Significantly and symbolically enough the wind comes from the daughter of the prophet (Fatima). Therefore, the last occurrence of the image of wind is at the end of the novel, The wind began to blow again. It was the levanter, the wind that came from Africa. It didn t bring with it the smell of the desert, nor the threat of Moorish invasion. Instead, it brought the scent of a perfume he knew well, and the touch of a kiss - a kiss that came from far away, slowly, slowly, until it rested on his lips. The boy smiled. It was the first time she had done that. I m coming, Fatima he said (177). This passage clearly expresses the symbolic significance of the image of the wind. The image of the sound of the wind is equally symbolic and significant. The camel driver in the desert understands the meaning of the mysterious sound. Therefore, Paulo writes, But, in the desert, there was only the sound of the eternal wind, (76). It is this sound of the eternal wind that helps Santiago to establish communion with the desert, sun and the hand that wrote all.

32 220 The images of the sun and the hand that wrote all* are also very significant. The sun represents the universal soul and the hand that wrote all* - the creator of the universe. When Santiago is asked to prove his capacity to turn himself into wind he establishes communion with the wind. It is the wind that takes him to the sun, and it is the sun that takes him to the hand that wrote all. It is due to the power of the hand that helps Santiago to turn into wind and save himself from the threat of the death. The supremacy of the hand that has created the universe is clearly mentioned by Paulo in the following words, In the silence, the boy understood that the desert the wind, and the sun were also trying to understand the signs written by the hand, and were seeking to follow their paths and to understand what had been written on a single emerald (160). The image of emerald is equally significant and symbolic because it is the hand that has wrote something on the emerald. In this context the alchemist explains the symbolic significance of the emerald as follows: In those times the Master Work could be written simply on an emerald. But men began to reject simple thing, and to write tracts, interpretations and philosophical studies. They also began to feel that they knew a better way than others had. Yet the Emerald Tablet is still alive today. [ ]. What was written on the Emerald Tablet? the boy wanted to know. [ ]. It s like the flight of those two hawks; it can t be understood by reason alone. The Emerald Tablet is a direct passage to the Soul of the World (132-33). The images of the desert and grain of sand are complementary to the image of the emerald. In this context Paulo remarks: The desert will give you an understanding of the world; in fact, anything on the face of the earth

33 221 will do that. You don t even have to understand the desert: all you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation (134). The image of the woman of the desert in an oblique way contributes to the central theme of the novel - the journey with the spiritual quest. The meaning of the term woman of the desert is symbolically explained by Fatima herself. She says, I m a desert woman, and I m proud of that I want my husband to wander as free as the wind that shapes the dunes. And, if I have to, I will accept the fact that he has become a part of the clouds, and the animals and the water of the desert (103). In this context two things are significant. One, one who understands the language of the desert, understands the language of the universe: and Fatima is the woman of the desert. Second, Fatima is a daughter of prophet. This mysterious combination of the desert, the woman of the desert and the daughter of the prophet is something central to the spiritual meaning of the novel The Alchemist. As the woman of the desert Fatima, necessarily wishes that her husband should wander like a wind. Fatima provides Santiago an inspiration to continue his journey till he finds his treasure. It is in this way the image of the desert woman assigns a significant meaning to Santiago s journey to find out the treasure. The concept of omen is dominant throughout the novel. The king of Salem tells Santiago the role of omens in human life. He says: In order to find the treasure, you will have to follow the omens. God has prepared a path for everyone to follow. You just have to read the omens that he left for you (30). Paulo also mentions some examples of good omens. Here he says: Before the boy could reply, a butterfly appeared and fluttered between

34 222 him and the old man. He remembered something his grandfather had once told him; that butterflies were a good omen. Like crickets, and like expectations; like lizards and four-leaf clovers (30-31). Another significant symbolic image is that of a scarab beetle. According to the Egyptians a scarab beetle stands for a good omen. In this context Paulo remarks, where his tears had fallen, a scarab beetle was scuttling through the sand. During his time in the desert, he had learned that, in Egypt, the scarab beetles are a symbol of God. Another omen! (169). The image of the snake within a circle is also highly symbolic. Santiago and the alchemist ride their horses together. At this point the alchemist tells Santiago, I don t know the language of the desert, but my horse knows the language of life (123). Suddenly, the alchemist dismounts and puts his hand into a whole and picks out a snake. Then he puts the snake into a circle that he draws on the ground. Here the alchemist says: Not to worry [---- ]. He won t leave the circle (124). After a while the alchemist erases the circle in the sand and the snake slithered away among the rocks (126). The circle around the snake signifies the conditions that signify the predicament of human life. It signifies that man is trapped by the material conditions as is the snake. However, the circle gets erased by the alchemist and that makes the passage through which the snake finds his way beyond the circle. In the same way man can also achieve the freedom when he is able to erase the circle at certain points. The alchemist performs the role of a major character in the novel, though; it is not a personal noun. The image of the character of the alchemist provides the novel its symbolic significance because an

35 223 alchemist brings the spiritual perfection into contact with the material plane. In this context Paulo remarks, Remember what I told you: the world is only the visible aspect of God. And that what alchemy does is to bring spiritual perfection into contact with the material plane (150). Thus, the image of the alchemist explains the symbolic significance of the title of the novel.

36 224 IV. Paulo Coelho s Perception in Terms of Spiritual Quest: In order to define Paulo s perception of the spiritual reality, we have to consider two basic issues in terms of the significance of his novel The Alchemist: what he tries to convey with use of symbols and images, with very brief stories and fables, anecdotes, dialogues and descriptions, etc. about the creation of the universe and its creator; and secondly, what he suggests, through the devices mentioned above about the function of the individual human being that is set in the framework of the universe. In this context following observations recorded by Paulo are very significant - 1. No project is completed until its objective has been achieved (169). 2. No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn t know it (167). 3. To realize one s destiny is a person s only real obligation (23). 4. When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it (23). 5. God has prepared a path for everyone to follow. You just have to read the omens that he left for you (30). 6. All you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation (134). 7. Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time (164). 8. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure (149).

37 The world is only the visible aspect of God. And what alchemy does is to bring spiritual perfection into contact with the material plane (150). 10. Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World. [----- ]. When we love, we always strive to become better than we are (pp ). 11. the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself (137) wherever you heart is, that is where you ll find your treasure (135). Moreover, Paulo s perception of the creation of human being with the help of five elements significantly corresponds with the oriental philosophy. In this context he clearly says: I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the same hand, and we have the same soul (154). In The Alchemist Paulo Coelho has presented his perception of spiritual quest in terms of the symbolic language of alchemy. What alchemy does is it converts baser metals into gold. In the novel the baser metal, Santiago, is converted into gold. In other words, spiritually, he is raised from the lower to the higher planes of existence. Spirituality essentially aims at man s inward transformation, leading to the realization of the self. In the novel Santiago realizes his self, his soul becomes one with the universal soul, and he seeks the Divine as the indwelling spirit of all creatures. Almost all the religions of the world consider the goal of spiritual life - the union of the Soul with the God. Santiago s Soul unites with the

38 226 soul of the God and he realizes that God is within his own self. In this context Paulo writes: The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own Soul (160). But it is his fateful encounter with an alchemist that brings him at last to self-understanding and the spiritual enlightenment. Santiago becomes the spiritual disciple of the alchemist and the spiritual leader, the alchemist, guides Santiago towards truth and God. In the novel, love is regarded as the nucleus for the process of the realization. The novel shows us how life has lessons for us in the greatest, smallest and most unusual experiences. Throughout the novel, Paulo imparts the wisdom that as long as you are following your heart and you listen to the omens that life provides you will find success in that which you most desire. It offers guidance for followers of all traditions in this exploration of the quest for spiritual fulfillment. Paulo seems to suggest that it is not the end or the fruit that determines the success of the quest, but the journey itself which provides one with the significance and necessity of human action. Paulo has united different cultures and faiths through his perception of them and through his language. He succeeds in complementing and reinforcing what is being aimed at by the scholars and intellectuals engaged in inter-religious dialogue.

39 227 B) SPIRITUAL QUEST IN JOURNEY TO ITHACA: I. Plot Construction of Journey to Ithaca: Journey to Ithaca is a saga of multiple journeys undertaken by three different characters, at different planes of existence. Anita Desai transports us from India to Italy, Egypt and America accompanying three foreigners - Matteo, Sophie and the Mother. While the journey of Matteo and the Mother culminates in India that of Sophie commences from India. Desai has interlinked each of these journeys to the other. The movements of the major characters in the novel indicate significant interactions between the East and the West The East is represented by India and the West is represented by U.S.A., Italy and Egypt) and France. Now let us see the elements of the plot: Matteo, bom in a luxuriant European family, grows up with his parents in Italy. Right from his childhood he is a peculiar child for he defies the decency and decoram of his home. Reticent and withdrawn, he finds his house with its velvet hangings and tapestries suffocating. His 'v' entire preseny at home and school seems to be made up of silence. At school he remains incommunicative and incompatible. He refuses to eat meat, and gravy and pastries. It makes his mother to take him away from the school and engage an English tutor. Matteo s introduction to Hermann Hesse s books by his private tutor transforms him completely. It instills in him a desire for the mystical East. The dismissal of Fabian as tutor further alienates him from his family and he starts running, escaping from the family. After his marriage with Sophie, a journalist, Matteo undertakes the great journey to the East with Sophie. In Matteo s pocket was the copy of Hesse s The Journey to the East.

40 228 The newly married couple from Italy moves towards India as did so many of their generation in Europe (31). At Bombay from hotel Monaco begins their designed journey. Matteo makes his journey to find India, to understand India, and the mystery that is at the heart of India (57), and also in search of search a Sage, a guide who will probably reveal him the mystery. In his pursuit of a guru, Matteo encounters many fake sages like - a babaji sitting in the lotus posture, on the water, a woman who wore a string of wooden beads and lectured to a reverential crowd, a meditating yogi completely nonchalant of prowling tigers, a woman meditating day and night in a cave sitting amid snakes and scorpions to rouse her psychic powers. In his pursuit, Matteo gives up wearing Western dress and wears wide pyjamas and a cotton vest. He joins a group on a pilgrimage to a shrine outside the city. They could not find any sign of transcendental power during the trip. Sophie finds foolishness in all this and asks if he needs her and he promises to take her to Goa after the rains are over. At Goa Sophie joins the drug tribe on the beach. She prefers the comfort of ignorance and she starts enjoying the smoke of marijuana and the drinks. But, this life, too, upsets her dreadfully. At Goa Matteo is on his search for Truth. He feels that if he could not have a vision of spiritual truth then he could not continue to live. He wanders away to be alone and to be further away from everyone. From Goa Matteo, alongwith Sophie, starts another journey to another ashram in Bihar in search of a Gum. The ashram at Bihar resembles nothing but a dungeon. There Matteo is asked to go to the gum with an offering. At ashram he takes a class in Sanskrit with a Swami. There Sophie finds that the Swamis discriminate between castes and religions. They believe that Sophie s touch can spoil the purity of water. Matteo and Sophie face religious pretence and fake

41 229 face of truth in such ashrams. Meanwhile Sophie discovers her pregnancy and faces enormous hostility, overhearing women disciples condemning her sexuality. Her pregnancy reflects also on guru s liking Matteo, as he is pushed down from a respectable place he had created for himself in the ashram. Further, he is horrified with some revelations. Thus, they encounter the fake mask of the truth, and decide to quit the place. Then, they proceed to an ashram in the hill run by a woman addressed as the Mother. The families were allowed to stay there. Sophie becomes violently ill on the long journey across the country from Bihar to the north and is taken to the hospital. She pleads Matteo again and again to send her home. Leaving her in the hospital in doctor s care, Matteo reaches an ashram in the foothills of the Himalayas, run by the Mother. The Mother has an overwhelming influence on Matteo because she follows no religion in particular but only preaches love. Now he learns that the mystery he has long been searching for is neither in bookish knowledge nor even blind faith, but is essentially an experience of bliss. Matteo finds solace to his deeply disturbed soul in the Mother. Sophie, unwillingly submitting to her husband s whims, follows Matteo to the ashram for fulfilling his dream of spiritual quest. At the ashram, Matteo is deeply immersed in his role first as the letter writer for the Mother, then as washer man in the kitchen sink, and finally in charge of the new publication unit set by Mother for the printing and publishing Master Prem-Krishnaji s messages. In the ashram Sophie is left to amuse herself and her uneasiness grows and she decides to break the spell of the Mother. Sophie considers the Mother only a woman and regards her a monster spider who had spun this web to catch these silly flies (127). It makes her enquire all about the past of the Mother and ultimately Sophie

42 230 gathers information that the Mother was a Muslian, an Egyption and was a dancer. Meanwhile the distance between Matteo and Sophie widens and she becomes rebellious against Matteo and leaves him and returns back to Italy with her children. Strangely enough, out of the ashram she feels alienated her from the mundane world outside. She finds herself misfit with the so-called normal people whom she had longed for. The thought of Matteo living in the ashram in India torments her, and so when a telegram comes to her informing that Matteo has been taken to the hospital, she at once returns to India by leaving the two children with Matteo s parents. Though physically away, her mind had been with Matteo all the time during her stay at Italy. After some time Sophie decides to destroy Matteo s spiritual obsession by exploring the Mother s past. In order to get the full and realistic information about the Mother she undertakes the journey from India to New York and again returns back to India. She journeys through Mediterranean, Alexandria, Cairo, Paris, Venice and New York to India. Her search reveals another peculiar journey of a young and determined girl Laila, the daughter of Hamid and Alma. Like Matteo, Laila is a misfit, odd, headstrong, independent child - causing headache to her parents and teachers. She, too, considers home an inadequate shelter; it is like a prison trapping her freedom. Longing for something different she cannot conform to the conventions of her society. So she is sent to Paris to her French aunt, Francoise. At Paris, from college she does not return home but roams around the city. Her desire for some sublime experience leads her astray, even to a revolutionary camp. She refuses to go to church. She joins the oriental dance troupe for spiritual enlightenment. She joins a dance troupe, because for Laila dance is a divine experience. Her encounter with the

43 231 hadgah propells her disturbed soul to a new direction. Later, it is a poster announcing Krishna Lila transfigures her life. It is significant to note that the characters of Matteo and Laila are strikingly identical in many respects. Both are restless at home in Italy and in Egypt respectively. Both have a strong desire to go to the East i.e. to India. The dance troupe moves from place to place particularly for money. She finds that this dance troupe has nothing to do with religious belief or spiritual exercise. She leaves the dance troupe at New York and travels far into the East. For Laila, the truth lies in India, and it is in India, through the means of dance, would she arrive at her enlightenment. On her journey to the Himalayas, with a desire to free of this world, to escape into a better and brighter one, she happens to see a holy man, although, no different from a beggar in appearance: It was clear he saw neither the station, nor the train nor die passengers; he cared not for the commerce and the hubbub of the world, he dwelt in another realm (296). She stands gazing at the holy man s serene visage. She narrates that experience in the following way: I believed I cried out to him, in appeal for his help, and before my eyes the great banyan tree burst into light, and I saw light traveling, pouring through the veins in its leaves, its twigs and branches and the very trunk itself so that it was transformed into an earthly sun and fire revolved through it as blood revolved - once more! - through my body. I was on fire, the tree was on fire light blazed and the whole sky was illuminated (296). Thus, for the first time in her life Laila experiences a scene, a vision that brings out a significant transformation in her outlook. It is this kind of

44 232 experience for which she has been craving since her childhood. At this juncture she has been travelling by train; she goes ahead by the train leaving behind the sight of the holy man. After a couple of days or so, she continues her journey to the mountain peak. In her diary she describes her experience at the mountain peak in the following way: I had reached the mountain peak at that magic hour between day and night [ ] and I asked myself: What will I meet here? Will Day come to meet my Night? [---- ] all the while my heart beat so I knew it was the hour of my fate. The wind blew about me, and there was music in it as it played upon the harps and lyres of the trees around me. Other than that, there was silence. Out of that silence, a cry, A long, piercing cry that went through my breast like a sword [ ]. At that moment the evening star appeared in the heavens and shone out from the deep blue of infinity. Was that not a promise? An augury? I knew it was, and rising to my feet, I began to dance in ecstacy, the ecstacy of knowing my time had come (298). At this crucial time of the most significant experience in her life, she sees the Master appearing before her on the dark hill-top. He says: Thou are Sha$, he pronounced, Supreme Power. Thou art Durga, Mother of us all. Thou are Kali, The Divine Force, And Parvati, Sweet Goddess of the Mountain (299).

45 233 That night she returns back to her crowded room. Next morning she comes back to the temple by the river. She then takes a bath in the river. She describes it in the following ways: I too bathe today in he waters of divine love! The river flows and carries my past away and leaves me pure and joyous as the new-born, fit to meet with the divine (300). Then she continues on her way and sees the Great Sage seated upon a carpet. He was speaking [----- ] and his voice was sweeter than the ringing of balls, sweeter than the song of birds; it had the power and the force of the river itself. He spoke of Divine Love and love filled my every limb with its nectar and I was Radha who beheld, at last, the true Krishna (300). The mountain peak continues to beacon her and she increasingly longs to go to that mountain peak which she thinks a true home for her. At the mountain peak her Master appears before her in the form of the holy Sage having a lantern in his hand in the darkness of the night. Seeing Him, she cries: O, you have come to save me! (302). She further narrates the culmination of her spiritual experience: He said no word but placed his arm about my shoulders and, drawing me to him, led me out. The lantern waved in the storm, the waters rose to engulf us, but as we stepped into the deluge the rains ceased, the clouds parted, the moon appeared and the storm was stilled. Peace reigned, complete and utter peace. He spoke you will come and live with me within my ashram, and by the light of the washed and silver moon, we crossed the courtyard and entered his Abode. Here I dwell now where I was always meant to dwell and where I resolve to live, never leaving His Side, His true Devotee and Lover (302).

46 234 This is a crucial point of the plot of the novel. It demonstrates how her spiritual quest is fulfilled. The last part of the novel is called epilogue. Sophie finally comes back from her journey to the Mother s ashram to see Matteo, to tell and reveal him the Mother s past. At the ashram she learns about the Mother s death and also that Matteo has left in search of peace to the mountain where the Mother received enlightenment. Now Sophie also realizes the meaning of pilgrimage and she, too, decides to go on the same pilgrimage - to the mountain hill. At the end of the novel, Giacomo (The son of Matteo and Sophie) comes home (in Italy) quite frightened and tells his grandfather I saw my father, [ ] he was wearing just a white cloth [ ]. He smiled at me. He said Giacomo, Giacomo [---- ]. Then he said - but I don t know what he said [ ]. He talks - like a foreigner. [ ]. He looked like the painting of Jesus in church (P.P ,309). Everybody disagrees and the child is made quite.

47 235 II. Thematic Concerns and the Supremacy of the Theme of Spiritual Quest in Journey to Ithaca Unlike A Passage to India, Pavilion of Women, Cry, the Beloved Country, The Alchemist or Bardana where we have several themes, in Journey to Ithaca right from the beginning Anita Desai depicts only one theme with full concentration and that is the theme of spiritual quest. Therefore, the question of the supremacy of the theme of spiritual quest over other themes in the novel simply does not arise. Journey to Ithaca deals with the theme of spiritual quest. In the novel Desai evokes spiritual India in all its endless complexity, and examines the nature of pilgrimage to India through the journeys of three foreigners. Several of Desai s novels explore tensions between family members and the alienation of middle-class women; however, Journey to Ithaca dramatizes the dilemma of the characters who strive to find a higher meaning in a strange world. Desai has depicted in the novel the duality of spirit and nature and the individual s spiritual search that transcends the restrictions of the society. The inclusion of C.P. Cavafy s Ithaca and a line from Immortality by Milan Kundera indicate the novels thematic thrust, while the title Journey to Ithaca encapsulates the gist of the novel. These things determine the spiritual character of the novel. In the novel Desai is obsessively occupied with the three character s spiritual quest. In this sense Swain opines, Desai s Journey to Ithaca is a compassionate portrait of people struggling to find a spiritual home. It delineates Matteo s alienation and the concomitant quest for spirituality (Bhatnagar, 2000: 169). A comprehensive study of the novel brings forth two themes - the theme of journey and the theme of spiritual quest. However, the theme of

48 236 journey is complementary to the theme of spiritual quest as Journey has been used right from the days of Homer to symbolize man s spiritual quest (Rai, 1983: 98). Obviously enough, the theme of the spiritual quest is always superior to and more significant than the theme of journey. It is the theme of spiritual quest that provides the novel its essential significance and the spiritual height. The indication of the spiritual quest is inherent in the term Ithaca. Thus, the title of the novel Journey to Ithaca reveals the relationship between the two themes - the theme of journey and the theme of spiritual quest. The journey undertaken by all the three major characters in the novel ultimately aims at the spiritual enlightenment. The Mother achieves it (302), Matteo imitates it (304) and Sophie follows it (305). At the end of their lives all the three major characters in the novel travel the path from the ashrama to the mountain peak of Himalaya. Their journey to India has meaning only in the context of spiritual quest. According to the chronology of the events in the novel and according to the seniority of the characters also it is Laila (i.e. Mother) who undertakes the first journey with the spirit of the spiritual quest right from the beginning till she achieves the enlightenment (304). It is significant to note that Laila is interested in dancing that is combined with music. Anita Desai being an Indian knows the significance of dance and music as the medium through which one can achieve the enlightenment - which according to ancient Indian Philosophy is called Nadbrahma. Dancing and music create a rythm that is used to establish communion with the sound of the universal spirit. It is represented by Omkar (3Tf^R). Laila has a strong faith and belief in the spiritual journey she undertakes right from the

49 237 beginning to the end of the novel. She never budges. She starts her journey from Italy to France and after joining the dancing group she travels from France to America and from America to Bombay. During this journey Laila realizes the commercial motives of Master Krishna, the dance master. As she is not interested in such mundane things she undertakes another significant journey from Bombay to die ashram and the spiritual significance of this journey is clearly revealed by the two names - Master Krishna (dance master) and Prem Krishna. The difference between the two Krishna s is the difference between the mundane world and the spiritual world. The last journey undertaken by the Mother is completely full of spiritual elements. Her experiences in the journey are essentially elemental - storm, rain, lightening, river and the mountain peak. The culmination of her spiritual journey takes place when she becomes one with the elemental forces i.e. Prem Krishna. Significantly enough, the Prem Krishna who was formerly in the ashram has traveled the same path earlier and has become one with the universal spirit. A special attention should be paid to the description of her experience on the mountain peak. Here Anita Desai writes: I had reached the mountain peak at that magic hour between day and night [-----] and I asked myself: What will I meet here? Will Day come to meet my Night? [----- ]. At that moment the evening star appeared in the heavens and shone out from the deep blue of infinity (298). The typical moment described here is the moment between Day and Night - life and death. At this typical and significant moment the wind blows about her and there is music in the wind as it plays upon the harps and lyres of the trees around her. It is this elemental music that is the real Ithaca for the Mother. Again it is significant to note that the Mother is basically a dancer and the present moment of culmination of her spiritual

50 238 experience is also full of elemental music. The blowing of the wind, the dancing of the wind, the dancing of the trees and the elemental music constitutes the oriental concept (ancient Indian) of Nadbrahma. The last part of the description is also very significant. The phrases deep blew infinity and the evening star have been the objects of Mother s spiritual journey. The fulfillment of these objects is expressed by Anita Desai in the following way: By the light of the evening star, At the sight of the rising moon, My Master appeared, On the dark hilltop [---] And when my dance was done [---] My Master's voice rang out: [- - -] Thou art Shakti, he pronounced, Supreme Power Thou art Durga, Mother of us all Thou art Kali. The Divine Force, And Parvati, Sweet Goddess of the Mountain. And all at once The Heavens burst into light and music of joyous celebration The master stepped forth and [ ] said He,

51 239 Come follow me, And henceforth my home Thy Haven shall be (299). Thus the spiritual significance of the title of the novel is fully realized in the description of Mother s spiritual experience at the peak of the mountain. That is the place where she always meant to dwell (302). It would not be out of place to raise a question about the remaining part of the plot. Prem Krishna calls her Shakti, Durga, Goddess of mountain. That is the real culmination of Laila s (Mother s) spiritual experience. One may feel that the novel should end here. However, it does not. Again the Mother comes back to her room, and then goes to the temple, at the bank of the river. From the temple she again climbs the hill and comes to the mountain peak and meets Prem Krishna at the second time. This additional part from her coming down from the mountain peak to the river and temple, after having the complete union with the elements and again going back to the mountain peak, baffles the readers. This additional exercise, it seems, of coming down to the river and going back to the mountain peak does not add anything significant either to the plot or to the thematic significance of the novel. Perhaps this might be another area of inquiry for the critics and scholars to pursue. The plot demands some significant treatment to the characters of Matteo and Sophie and this demand is essentially in the light of spiritual quest. In order to fulfill it Matteo also undertakes the same journey from the ashram to the mountain peak. Matteo s spiritual enlightenment is explained in the epilogue. His son Giacomo in Italy sees Matteo in the garden of his house in the form of Christ. Thus the fulfillment of Matteo s

52 240 spiritual quest is achieved by the novelist with the help of epilogue. Thus, the short epilogue essentially becomes an integral part of the theme of the spiritual quest of the novel. The third significant character in ths novel, Sophie, has acquired a lot of experience of human life including her stay at Goa, when she returns to the ashram with the details of the life accounts of the Mother, when she finds that Matteo has also gone by the same way followed by the Mother. She experiences a crucial moment in her life. Now there are only two alternatives before her - one, to go back to her motherland Italy and to lead the same common life in which she has lost her interest, and second, to follow the path of the Mother and of Matteo. She chooses the second. This is the indication that all her experience of life has made her disinterested in the mundane life and this has made her qualified to have the transcendental experience of spiritual enlightenment. Thus thematically her choice of following the path of the Mother and Matteo strengthens the theme of the spiritual quest. The theme of spiritual quest has thus dominated the lives of the four major characters of the novel - Prem Krishna, the Mother, Matteo and Sophie. All other things in the novel fulfill the necessary subordinate roles in order to fulfill the theme of the spiritual quest through the four major characters of the novel. Human life is always compared to a journey and to a Day. Allegorically, the morning represents the birth and the darkness of the night represents the death. Human beings travel in between. The journey of the Mother, Matteo and Sophie constitutes their lives, but at the end the Mother s life ends with the elemental music and she becomes one with the

53 241 evening star of the deep blew infinity. As in human life the journey of the Day is full of difficulties, hardships and sufferings, all the characters experience the inherent suffering in their life. However, ultimately they come to their Ithaca. Thus, the theme of journey ultimately dissolves itself in the theme of spiritual quest.

54 242 III. Use of Symbolism and Imagery in Journey to Ithaca: In Journey to Ithaca Anita Desai, a philosophically inclined novelist, attempts to explore the meaning and nature of reality and also of illusion as two contrasted worlds of ideas and beliefs. Through the spiritual journey of Matteo and Laila (the Mother) a whole range of the philosophy and thought of the East is subtly explored as a way of life, as a breath of existence. In the novel Matteo and Laila are presented as intellectual pilgrims in the quest for reality, the quest for truth, the search for the eternal verities implicit in India s great spiritual heritage. They, thus, dramatically and symbolically re-enact the spiritual adventures of the ancients in their quests for truth. The symbolic title suggests this search for the fundamental truth of life, the Reality embedded in the complex fabric of existence. In the context of Journey Gangeshwar Rai s observation is significant. He observes, Journey has been used right from the days of Homer to symbolize man s spiritual quest (Rai, 1983: 98). The major characters in the novel try to seek something and therefore they are in search of the spirit. It is their quest that matters much. The title of the novel itself is indicative of this quest. Further, Ithaca, too, is defined in the same sense. Rai defines Ithaca as Ithaca is back home or the celestial city (Ibid. : 98). The present welfare system cannot give spiritual peace to man, so Anita Desai, like Greene and Conrad pleads for a return to the bareness simplicity (back home/ithaca), instinctive friendliness, feeling rather than thought and start again. In this context A.K. Bachchan observes, Journey to Ithaca is a journey where Ithaca ceases to be a specific place. Ithaca is the symbol of that unfailing beacon which eternally calls man to wander to

55 243 be in quest of spiritual truth, heart s truth, a quest for reaching one s home land, his inner self (Bachchan, 2004 : 161). Thus, the major characters in the novel - Matteo, Laila and Sophie - are on pilgrimage to Ithaca i.e. to the celestial city, to the lighthouse, to a beacon, which eternally calls man to wander to be in quest of spiritual truth. In the novel India emerges to be Ithaca or a religious space, capable of offering some positive messages in spite of all its ambiguities. It has been an old tradition in Europe to regard India as a trope around which the motif of journey comes to operate.the present novel is the best example of this belief. Desai has used the image of journey to present the higher vision of human life. Ithaca has emerged through time as an archetypal image of homecoming, and has been widely used (from Tennyson s Ulysses) by European writers as such. In the present novel, too, Ithaca emerges as a image of homecoming as the journey undertaken by the Mother and Matteo culminates in their returning to the spiritual home, that is their spiritual fulfillment. The journey undertaken by three different characters at different planes of existence with an intention in search of the root of spirituality is highly symbolic. It is symbolic because while depicting the conflict-ridden existence of these characters, Anita Desai is dealing with the predicament of the modem man caught in the contrived dialectical opposition between what is and what ought to be. The disintegrated and fagmented beings, Matteo as well as Laila s endeavour all through has been to attain integration of being and wholeness of personality. Thus, in the novel Desai symbolically occupies with the individual s pursuit for freedom and Truth that provide spiritual sustenance to the split self.

56 244 After Baumgartner's Bombay (1988) Desai offers Journey to Ithaca as another intriguing novel of India in all its endless complexity, and examines the nature of pilgrimage to India, where she symbolically and brilliantly evokes spiritual India in all its endless complexity, and examines the nature of pilgrimage to India through the adventures of three characters - Matteo and Sophie, young Europeans, and the Mother, a charismatic and mysterious woman. The novel synthesizes Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. The seeds for higher values of life had already been sown by Desai in her Baumgartner s Bombay, but they sprout to full swing in Journey to Ithaca. The incomplete journey of Hugo (in Baumgartner s Bombay) for his spiritual enlightenment comes to its completion in Journey to Ithaca transforming the novel symbolically into a meaningful Journey to the East once again. Journey to Ithaca begins with two quotations - a poem Ithaca by C.P. Cavafy and a line by Milan Kundera - both of which are indicative of its thematic trust, while the title encapsulates the gist of the novel. These two quotations determine the character of the novel. Let us begin with Milan Kundera s line -----things exist in their essence even before they are materially realized and named (Desai, 1995: IX). This is true with Matteo and the Mother, as the novel dramatizes the dilemma of these two characters who strive to find a higher meaning in a strange world. What Milan Kundera says is absolutely true with Matteo, for Matteo, the only child of well - to - do Italian parents, exhibits signs of worldly failure from the beginning. Even as a boy he fails to conform to the domestic or social norms of the world around. The life at the school

57 245 baffles him like, the geometry and algebra. He refuses to eat meat, gravy and pastries, his mother try to force on him. After reading Hermann Hesse s Journey to the East and Siddhartha, all Matteo wants is to place a distance between his parents and himself. Further, he no longer sleeps in his bed but stretches himself on a worn rug on the floor, Just like a tomcat who wants to escape from the house and go on the tiles (28). His behaviour at school and home symbolically exhibits that the seeds for higher values of life had already been there in their essence even before they were materially realized and named. Like Hermann Hesse s Siddhartha (1922) in Journey to Ithaca Desai gives poetic expression to Indian philosophy and therein lies the symbolic significance of the novel. Matteo s fateful encounter with his tutor, Fabian, and his reading of Hesse instills in him a curiosity towards the Enlightenment of the East and towards the philosophy of Vedanta and he leaves his Italian home in search of spiritual enlightenment and ultimate truth in the ashrams of India. Here the role of Fabian is highly symbolic for Fabian pushes Matteo towards the things which had already been there in their essence in Matteo s mind. Matteo, a spiritual pilgrim, passes through many temptations and trials on his way for the attainment of enlightenment In India he encounters many fake sages in his pursuit of ultimate truth. Obsessed with Truth and spiritual quest, Matteo passes through a series of failures. He pursues his goal single-mindedly, facing trials and tribulations, hardships of an extreme kind, until he reaches it surely. The series of failures, trials and tribulations and hardships of an extreme kind suggest the spiritual state of the pain and agony through which the soul must pass for

58 246 its purification before it attains illumination, which is followed by a spiritual bliss. Matteo passes through the pain and agony and at last the illuminated Matteo realizes that the mystery he has long been searching for is neither in bookish knowledge nor even in blind faith, but it is essentially an experience of bliss (105). Truth comes to him in the form of an experience of bliss. Matteo finds in the Mother his Guru who shows him the way into His Divine Presence (105). Matteo, who had once read in the Katha Upanishad about the path of joy and the path of pleasure, now determines to follow the path of joy as against the path of pleasure. All this symbolically reflects his quest for spirituality. Matteo first works as a letter-writer for the Mother then as a washerman at sink and lastly as an in-charge of a new publication unit at the Mother s Abode of bliss. Even he is asked to fetch a tumbler of warm milk from the kitchen for the Mother before she retires. All this is highly symbolic from the spiritual point of view. What Anita Desai suggests is that every step on the spiritual path has to be taken with utmost care and concentration and for that the soul has to cultivate a state of self-surrender and then only it can seek a highest joy or Parmandanda. His work for the Mother is nothing but his initiation into spiritual world. The spiritually transformed Matteo now rejects the Westernized view of his wife. For Sophie, Work is work and should bear fruit (125), but Matteo believes in, a higher way of life [ ] work without desiring the fruit from that work (125). It is a spiritual gospel of Gita. Thus, it is the fateful encounter with the Mother that brings Matteo at last to self-understanding and spiritual enlightenment. In the novel the Mother symbolically emerges as an image of Guru,

59 247 as it is she who brings about Matteo s redemption. Through the story of the Mother and Matteo s redemption Desai has just symbolically represented the Oriental philosophy, for the dynamic and inspiring teachings of Upanishadic Vedanta, Bhagvat Gita and Buddhism are of the view that faith in or surrender to an incarnation or a prophet will bring about one s redemption. At the early stage of his life in India, the absence of a proper Guru leads Matteo astray. After running from one ashram to another in search of a Guru, Matteo reaches an ashram on the mountain in the North and at last experiences Paramananda (bliss) at the feet of the Mother, the head of the ashram. Thus, his journey ends in total surrender to the Mother with the conviction that she is the one who can reveal the unknown (141) to him. Matteo is so obsessed with his pursuit that he simply does not care for or even remember his responsibility towards wife or children. This a very common attitude found among many Indian monks. In his pursuit of jnana (enlightenment), Matteo works for the Mother without desiring the fruit from that work. Thus, in Matteo one finds the three well-known ways of approach to Reality - Karma, Bhakti and Jnana. These ways of approach to reality are the essence of the Gita, which is characteristically a theistic Hindu scripture. Thus, Matteo symbolically re-enacts the spiritual adventure of ^ ancients in his quest for truth. Further, we have the symbol of a lotus. The symbol of lotus is always found in the sacred Hindu, Buddhist and Christian literatures. The symbol of lotus suggests purity and perfection, for though it blooms in the mud, remains perfectly defiled. Like the lotus the spiritually awakened

60 248 being remains detached with the filthy materialistic world. That s why the Mother advises Matteo to be like a lotus flower, which is not wetted by water or stained by mud (138). Thus, the Mother indicates to Matteo through her spiritual gospel of love, irrespective of any religion, caste and creed, the spiritual experience to which he is subjected. The belief in the possibility of man s attainment of highest bliss or enlightenment through a humble return to nature is very common in Indian literature and Anita Desai, too, believes in this possibility. So she employs the symbol of mountain in her novel. The mountain symbolizes moral and spiritual superiority. The Mother attains the absolute peace and the miraculous spiritual power at the mountain peak. Like Matteo, it is her strong conviction that there must be a Master somewhere to show her the Eternal Truth. In this sense Laila, too, symbolically re-enacts the spiritual adventure of ancients in her quest for truth. In the final pages of the novel the symbols such as fire, rain, river and mountain are employed by Desai. On her journey to the Himalayas, with the desire to be free of this world, to escape into a better and brighter one, Laila visualizes an Eternal light setting her on fire. The fire signifies the pain and penance the mortal must undergo to achieve deification. The symbol of fire has a purgative value. The fire purges the mind of the aspirant of unwanted emotions that alone makes him or her worthy recipient of the intimations of immortality. At the mountain the evening star appears in the heavens and shines out from the deep blue of infinity. Seeing it Laila begins to dance in ecstasy and her dance in prayer

61 249 and joy brings the Master to her pronouncing her Shakti, Durga - Mother of us all, The Divine Force, and Sweet Goddess of the Mountain (299). Laila s dance becomes a medium to express her joy over perfect communion of soul into the supreme soul. Obviously, her lyrical utterance conveys the state of spiritual ecstasy Laila must have experienced at the glimplse of the eternal. Here ends the most turbulent phase of her search providing her bliss, wisdom, enlightenment and her great transformation from Laila to the Mother. Thus, transformed, Laila could see the world itself, including all living and non-living things, radiant with beauty. She realizes the oneness of Man and God, of Mind and Nature. It is this transformation that makes her to smile at every old man, at dogs in the dust, and, even the crows that morning seemed to sing and scream (300). Desai has presented symbolically the physical ailments of Laila and Matteo. Laila and Matteo almost die when they fail seriously ill. Desai seems to suggest that through physical ailment comes liberty from bodily consciousness and confinement. In Bombay at the dance master s dingy flat Laila falls terribly ill and is admitted in a hospital for treatment and cure of hepatitis. Matteo too was infected by the same disease. Matteo also becomes the holy man after recovery. It is from the hospital that Laila finds her way to her enlightenment. All this is of course very symbolic. The image of crow is of crucial significance in the novel. It appears for several times in the novel. Sophie finds Hotel Manaco a threatening menace - all the crows in Bombay seemed to have gathered to

62 250 huddle [----- ] letting out caws of complaint at the season and their fate (44). During the monsoon season, the crows maddened her with their cries giving extra loud caws of indignation and outrage (45). Earlier, when Laila comes over to India and is trapped in the cage-like flat in Bombay, under the threat of extinction and the spell of the fake Krishna, she too finds the cawing harsh and it maddens her: Outside black crows are fighting and screaming. [ ] They swoop upon it (a bucket of refuse) [ ] They frighten me so (285). The above incident exhibits that the image of crow is used by Desai to indicate the turmoil and restlessness within the minds of Laila and Sophie. It is interesting to note here that these frightening crows are silenced once their journey is complete. Thus, the image of crow, in the novel, signifies the discordant cawing within man. Once the enlightenment is attained, the crows can be silenced or even they appear radiant with beauty. The enlightened Laila, at last, smiles at every old man, at dogs in the dust, and, even the crows that morning seemed to sing and scream (300). Thus the image of crow dominates the pages of Journey to Ithaca and contributes to the development of the theme of spiritual quest in the novel. Thus the theme of the spiritual quest is depicted in the novel with the symbols of the crow, the peacock, the fake guru s, the fake Krishna, the disease - hepatitis, the ashramas, the holy sage, journey, the river, temple, the mountain peak, the evening star, the lantern, the storm and rain, engulfing waters, bathing in the river and the dance of ecstasy and lastly the master Krishna.

63 251 Further, Desai refers to river and rain as symbols those provide purity to mind. Before entering the Abode of bliss i.e. the temple on mountain Laila takes bath in the river and cries out in joy as she feels that she has taken the bathe in the waters of divine love. The river flows and carries her past away and leaves her pure and joyous as the new-born, fit to meet the divine. In such spirits she finds the Master, the incarnation of the God of love and the mountain peak becomes her true home (300). Laila receives her spiritual enlightenment at Prem-Krishna s (the Master) feet on a night tossed by torrential rains and storms. This is highly symbolic. Unless the storms of life are conquered, sorrows flooded away, and purity gained, the entry into the serene enlightenment cannot occur. Desai significantly suggests this by the use of symbols of storm and rain. Laila enters the Abode to become one with Prem-Krishna after conquering the tempests of life and gaining the purity of mind. In Journey to Ithaca Desai presents a very profound Vedantic philosophy of the unfathomable knowledge of Nature. For her God is present in every particle of Nature. While the Mother attains her spiritual enlightenment at the mountain, after the Mother s death, Matteo also selects a departure in the nature (mountain) for the absolute peace and attains identify in illumination and miraculous spiritual power. This is evident in the symbolic meeting between Matteo and his son Giacomo. To Giacomo his father looks like the painting of Jesus in Church (309). This is nothing but Matteo s salvation here in this world. ^ Matteo attains this miraculous spiritual power after the death of his guru, the Mother. The Mother is but the spiritual leader who guides her disciple towards truth and God. This is also symbolic. According to

64 252 Hinduism the Guru is the one, who shows the path of liberation (Moksha) to the disciple but Moksha is to be achieved by oneself by trial and error. Once the Guru puts his disciple on the proper path, his work is over. This is what exactly happens in the case of Matteo and the Mother. After the death of the Mother it is the Nature that provides Matteo the spiritual enlightenment and he attains the Moksha here in this world. Thus, as Desai turns to Vedanta and Upnishadas Journey to Ithaca encapsulates the wisdom of Oriental philosophy. /

65 253 IV. Anita Desai s Perception in Terms of Spiritual Quest: The use of symbols and images in Journey to Ithaca is essentially a matter of Desai s technique. Desai has used certain symbols and images to convey her vision of spirituality. Significantly enough, through the spiritual journey of the three Europeans a whole range of the Philosophy and thought of the East is subtly explored as a way of life, as a breath of existence by Desai. Through these journeys Desai makes us to have an overview of both the cultural and religious codes of our land. Anita Desai may be justifiably described as a Philosophical novelist deeply involved in the knowledge and wisdom of the East and the West. She is also a novelist of sharp sensitivity and perception of the fundamentals of living, of a Philosophical mode and a social and moral order. In Journey to Ithaca she is deeply involved in spirituality as a way of life, as a recorded world of values. Desai s perception of oriental philosophy, her preoccupations with religious India, her perceptions of the gospel of Geeta, Vedanta and Upanishadas are presented in Journey to Ifhaca symbolically. She has followed a definite method and definite discipline by which she has developed her characters in the novel. The development of the characters itself presents her perception of spiritual quest. Journey to Ithaca, in a sense, is a novel of pilgrimage, of people s quest for some sustained power or peace in nature which stretches back to pre-history. This pilgrimage involves an alienation from mundane society, since the purpose of the journey is to attain a new relationship with nature as the springhead of energy that takes the human being to the realization of spiritual enlightenment. The conscious act of getting cut off from society helps the Mother and Matteo to get related to the cosmic power of nature and get regenerated through it with reinforced life.

66 254 Desai seems to convey here that bliss can be achieved by those who discard the physical attainments of the world, and enter into the cosmic world of the natural elements. The novel is an artistic embodiment of the affirmative vision of life. In the novel she expresses, a positive philosophy of life that guides and controls the thematic and technical aspects. The central philosophy of the novel is an affirmation of transcendental principles like Truth, Beauty and Goodness through a delineation of pursuit and practice of higher values like love, compassion and the concurrent negation of lower material values. Thus, the acceptance of higher values and the concurrent negation or rejection of lower values naturally pave the way for the attainment of the highest joy or bliss. The Mother experiences a bliss when she is reunited with the cosmic elements. In Journey to Ithaca there is an experience of ultimate joy of life (bliss) preached by all the saints; prophets, philosophers and mystics of the world. In the novel Desai suggests that the meaning of God and the purpose of life rest ultimately in the mission of universal love. The spiritually enlightened Laila (the Mother) smiles at every old man, at dogs in the dust, and at even the crows because she realizes that love is the most important thing to have in the world. She realizes the oneness of Man and God, Mind and Nature. But even here the basic spiritual perception of Desai is the process of loosing the self or ego in order to qualify oneself and then experience the spiritual bliss by merging the ego with the spirit. Desai indicates that the blissful spiritual experience is to be acquired by the individual concern with special efforts and for that the individual has to qualify himself or herself for that spiritual fulfillment.

67 255 The end of the novel is symbolic in this sense. The child Giacomo has a long way to go for that experience like his father. That is the reason why he does not understand Matteo s language. Man cannot reach his Ithaca unless his self is awakened. At the end of the novel Sophie s inner self is awakened and so she follows that path of her husband in search of higher way of life. Sophie sets out to experience the eternal knowledge, truth, beauty, joy and bliss realizing that life itself is a pilgrimage. In the process of self-discovery the journey is more important than the destination. This is the message of Cavafy s poem that is quoted at the beginning of the novel. The passage from Rigveda of persistent journey, (Therefore wander!) the novel deals with, is the concept of anantayatra. It is indeed an apotheosis of the real oriental vision of life. This is the essence of Indian spirituality that the Mother upholds and Matteo and Sophie realize, and the novel ends with this apotheosis of the Indian vision of life. Through the novel (Journey to Ithaca) Anita Desai tries to convey the ancient Indian doctrine of surrendering one s own ego to the elements of nature and becoming one with the cosmic elements i.e. the spirit of the god.

68 256 B) SPIRITUAL QUEST IN BARDANA: I. Plot Construction of Bardana: Prakash Deshpande- Kejkar is a noted novelist and critic in Marathi. Bardana published in 2004, is his third novel. It was very well welcomed all over Maharashtra as a consequence it received six prizes including Anna Bhau Sathe award by Maharashtra Government. Let us see the elements of the plot: The plot of the novel is sandwiched between two dreams of Raosaheb. The novel opens with Raosaheb s dream. In a dream he sees a spot of light. The light leads him away from his house, field, and village to a mystic way. He follows the light, then he hears a sound of rills (Rmc64i) i.e.a sound of a wooden musical instrument consisting of two wooden pieces, then comes the sound of laugh following it a call of Alkha Niranjan for three times. Raosaheb awakes with fear, changes his side and again falls asleep. The dream continues. He sees the light to his feet once again and follows it. He hears a call of Alakh Niranjan, and also of tabor (*j^t). He dreams that he has been transformed into a faqir - with the wooden shoes, half naked body, matted hair (^TZT), a long beard and the rings in the ear. He finds his forehead and chest striped with the marks of ashes (WT). He sees himself completely transformed. He reaches the mountain, sees a river and a boat at the bank, he enters into the boat. As soon as he enters into the boat, the boat leaves the bank of the river. He becomes restless and thinks if once the boat reaches the other bank; he will be cut off from his world. The thought makes him restless and he jumps into the river. With this the dream comes to an end.

69 257 The dream makes him to tremble with fear. Raosaheb feels horrified with the idea of leaving his world - his home, field, and village. The plot of the novel is developed with a device of contrast. He dreams this strange dream of taking him away from the mundane, materialistic world on the very dawn when he has decided to bring into cultivation a new piece of land at the bottom of the hill. It has become a necessity, for with the time the family was growing fast. He has kept everything ready for the auspicious beginning of cultivation. Twelve years ago he had planted the garden of Jamb on the auspicious day of Gudhi- Padwa at the hands of his close and intimate friend Bhiva, a shepherd. He has decided to start this cultivation too at his hands and he has dreamt this strange dream. So he feels sad. He tries to come out of the shadow of the dream. But at the same time he ponders who he is? For what he is doing all this? Does all this belong to him? Who he really is? These questions disturb him a lot. Pondering over these questions he remembers his childhood days and a faqir and his words Alakha Nimjan.He used to hear the lines of faqir coming from some distant land 4)^11 ^TFblT m^ll (7). The faqir used to take Raosaheb at his close, saying STRslft FT ^ f (8). It is interesting to note here that Raosaheb s name by birth was Nimjan, a name of God. Further, Raosaheb had the glimpses of this experience of the mystic call Aalkha Nimjan for two times once, when he was in 7th std, his school trip was taken to the hill of Buttenath and secondly, when he was on the tour with his college friends at the hill of Miravali. He had not told those strange experiences to anybody. But today the hidden treasure of those strange experiences has been uncovered by the strange dream. The path seen in the dream constantly calls him and thus it disturbs his whole routine.

70 258 The dream gives a different direction to his life. It shows him the way of non-attachment to worldly pleasures. But he has never been interested in religion or its rites. Though, bom in a landlord family, he is more interested in farming than in the luxurious living. Since childhood he has a special attachment with the land, the pet animals and with farming. Even Raosaheb s wife, Saralavahini too, has a great interest in farming. Raosaheb brings the new piece of land into cultivation. Bhiva and Raosaheb were close friends since childhood. After sixth standard, Bhiva leaves the school. In spite of any interest Raosaheb complets his B.Com. He learns the art of wrestling from Buvaji, Bhiva s father. Due to his close attachment to Buvaji and Bhiva his kins used to tease him by calling him a Shepherd. During the days of his youth he has some tender feelings for ^Mania, Bhiva s sister. He plants the garden of Jamb, afterwards in the fond memory of Maina. Meanwhile, we learn about Saralavahini s suffocating condition due to his attachment to the farm. In the evening, Raosaheb goes to Hakimsaheb to tell him about his strange dream. His father and Hakimsaheb were good friends. Whenever, Raosaheb had any crisis, he used to go to Hakimsaheb for its solution. Hakimsaheb tells the story of his own transformation to Raosaheb. Then Raosaheb tells him about the dream. Hakimsaheb listens to the dream with great interest and like a child. After listening to it completely Hakimsaheb tells him that the path Raosaheb has seen in his dream is the path of God. He asks him to follow that path of God. He also asks him to try to realize his true self. Hakimsaheb had already experienced the spiritual enlightenment. Raosaheb feels uneasy with the thought of crossing the hurdle of attachment and entering into the realm of spiritual reality. Even in the dream he couldn t cross it.

71 259 Whereas Raosaheb, even though bom in a landlord family, works on the field as a farmer; Yuvraj, his cousin still lingers in the thoughts that he belongs to a rich landlord family and prefers the luxurious life of a landlord. This has made him suffer from the pangs of poverty. He usually brings the goods from the market on credit, but he is unable to pay the bill. One day a servant from the merchant s shop comes to collect the bill of goods. He speaks rudely with Yuvraj. Yuvraj becomes angry and a quarrel begins between them. Yuvraj s servant, Sonaji, requests the merchant s servant and takes him outside the mansion. The merchant s servant returns to the shop abusing Yuvraj. The entire lane enjoys the scene. Yuvraj s wife weeps a lot over the situation. She becomes angry over her husband s inactiveness. At the time of her marriage the mansion was full of splendor. But now everything has gone and the family has become lame. They are unable to pay even to maidservant. Lalasaheb comes to Yuvraj s help. He pays his entire bill. Both Lalasaheb and Yuvraj abuse Raosaheb for not helping Yuvraj. They tease Raosaheb for being a farmer. Lalasaheb is a sub-overseer in P.W.D. He is rather a carefree man. He has managed everybody in his department so he behaves as per his whims. He stays at home for days together without an application of leave. He has his relations with the local M.L.A. Lalasaheb is romantic also. One by one Yuvraj sells out all his land to Tatyarao, a selfish moneylender and a diplomatic man. He decides to sell a piece of land to a Muslim butcher. This makes Lalasaheb, Balasaheb and Raosaheb uneasy. They go to Yuvraj to persuade him from not selling the land to the butcher. Raosaheb purchases that land at a high rate. At last Yuvraj sells out the old mansion, the pots in the house, wooden furniture and leaves the village

72 260 forever. Yuvraj used to visit the prostitutes also. Thus, due to the bad habits of Yuvraj his family gets annihilated. Another important character from the point of plot of the novel is Balasaheb. He, in spite ofya government servant, also suffers the pangs of poverty. Balasaheb has got the service at the recommendations of Lalasaheb. Balasaheb is a religious minded man. He performs every religious rite. He has to run his large famil> - wife, two sisters and a goodfor- nothing brother, with his meager income. Balasaheb s sister Yami, an unmarried girl over thirty five, is a religious minded girl. Balasaheb always avoids the subject of Yami s marriage because he is unable to carry out her marriage due to poverty. Though, Balasheb s family is also landlord s family, his family has also lost everything. He sells out his land for his sister s marriages. While his sister Yami has to marry a widower of fifty four years old, his second sister has to marry a very ugly and diseased man. His wife always suffers. Thus, like Yuvraj he is on the way to complete rack and ruin. The insane (half mad) character Nagusha is also of vital importance in the plot of the novel. He plays different games like - a game school and school master, a game of thief - police, a game of house and a game of sunlight and shadow. In his farm Raosaheb goes into a trance. In a trance he sees a fullflooded stream, he enters into the stream to go beyond but as he gets into it another wave of water comes and he gets entangled into it. Kondiba calls out for him and he comes out of the trance. He becomes restless. His mind wanders everywhere and for that he wants to punish himself. When he was in such a state of mind, Bhima s bull comes into his field and destroys the small plants of chilly. He cruelly beats the bull and afterwards feels guilty

73 261 of his deed. The incident of beating the bull by Raosaheb has symbolic significance. Raosaheb s elder brother lives in Pune. He always demands money from Raosaheb. Further, one day he gives the land of his share to Tatyarao for cultivation. This is a great shock to Raosaheb, as without informating him he gives it to Tatyarao. The author has presented the conflict between rural families through the characters of Yuvraj, Dinkarrao, Lalasaheb Balasaheb and Raosaheb. Further, he symbolically represents the quarrel between these persons through the games of their children. Buvaji tejls Raosaheb that the land is living element and it has the spirit of God. Believing in Buvaji s faith about the land Raosaheb treats the land as if it were his mother. He brings an electric engine, sets it on the well of the land. It is here at this crucial point his elder brother Dinkarrao claims the share of his land and gives it to Tatyarao. Raosaheb s swimming in a doh is also very symbolic. In the doh he hears the mysterious call of Alakha Niranjan. The deep water, its darkness, Raosaheb s suffocating condition in it, a mystic call, his wearing the cloths all play a vital role in the plot of the novel as it contributes a lot to the theme of spiritual quest. In the course of time Raosaheb learns the language of earth, water and also of the wind. All these elements of nature provide Raosaheb with the significant and essential strength to follow the path of his dream. The garden of Jamb is now taken by Dinkarrao and Tatyarao destroys it. Step by step his attachment to the land lessens and thus he thinks of undertaking a more lasting journey from attachment to detachment. He becomes free of attachment. It gradually leads him to his true path. He looses the possession of the garden of Jamb, and of the well. His close and intimate friend Bhiva leaves him and joins Tatyarao. Hakimsaheb dies. It was Hakimsaheb who dr O

74 262 had shown him the way to realization. However, the death of Hakimsaheb gives an added dimension and strength to Raosaheb s life. Once again Raosaheb indulges into farming. Now, he decides to work with belief and faith but at the same time he decides that he will lessen his attachment with this materialistic world. He wants to be as close as possible to the God. Being close to the God Raosaheb gradually learns the process of controlling the mind. Kondiba, his servant at the field, joins Tatyarao s camp for more money. After Buvaji, Kondiba has been his faithful servant on the field. He receives another shock learning that it is Bhiva who has taken Kondiba to Tatyarao. The incident of burning the heap of grass by fire is also very important in the plot. One evening Raosaheb has been observing the red coloured western horizon. Looking at the red horizon he forgets himself. His mind wanders with the mystic blood-red horizon. At the same time the heap of grass is set on fire. Looking at the waves of fire he enters into a trance. In a trance he sees himself caught into the fire. He experiences the pure, innocent form of the blood-red fire. He looks at a very huge spark (fe&fft); its brightness dazzles his eyes. The huge spark turns into explosion and it bums his whole existence. With this he comes back to his consciousness. This incident transforms him completely, makes him enlightened. He salutes that bright spark and decides to follow the path until he meets that bright spark, until he meets the God. He becomes restless for the meeting with God. Now Raosaheb sees a second dream. Raosaheb follows the path of his second dream - it was bright now, there was not a single dot of darkness. He was free of his family responsibilities. He was not concerned about his future; he was just repeating the name of God. He finds himself completely transformed inwardly. The worldly Raosaheb has been

75 263 destroyed by the fire. He reaches the state of deification (*pf?tic5t futj P. 249). He finds the lost path as well as his true self. He finds his closeness with the nature. He finds himself neither confused nor perturbed. In the brightness of the dawn he sees his further path. In this last phase of his life he depends on no outer signs. Within him he hears the sound of rills and also the sound of Alakha Niranjan. He finds himself transformed into a Faqir. In a dream he walks barefooted towards a mountain. Now his path has been without any hurdles. He has crossed every hurdle on this path of detachment. He attempts to find the almighty spirit in his own body. After facing many hardships, he reaches the last phase of enlightenment. Confidently, he follows the path. On his way to the mountain he has a glimpse of universal sprit. He sees it in the form of a flock of herons. Then he encounters a flock of cows. A feeling of love rushes from him heart for them, and for everything that he encounters on his way towards the mountain. Coming on a height he experiences the hugeness of the Earth and feels ashamed for having wasted his whole life for a small piece of land. On that height of a mountain, he realizes the difference between the mundane world and that of the higher kind of life. A strange stream flows inside his body from the toe to the head. It was a sign. Now the mountain peak appears to him as a great sage, bright and live. He hurries to meet with that bright and Divine sign. He forgets himself and hurries to meet with the Divine but the way has ended there. He salutes that Divine sign. Then he visualizes a red circle at the height of the peak. It turns into a golden circle. Its brightness dazzles his eyes. Through the golden circle comes out a white and brighter globe. It brightens the whole earth. As he bows to salute it, it comes to him; he becomes happy, forgets himself and at that crucial moment his whole body turns into a flame and it merges into

76 264 that white and brighter globe. Then there comes the divine call of Alakha Nirajan, and the dream comes to an end. Raosaheb wakes from sleep and dream. His dream is but the manifestation of his own thoughts. He has been yearning for such experience for many years. It provides his life the essential peace. He becomes sthitpragyna. He decides to leave the transitory world to reach the peak, seen in the dream. He realizes himself. He experiences the deification. He also realizes the emptiness and transitoriness of the world around. The dream puts a full stop to all his worldly concerns. It places him on his way towards salvation. On the auspicious day of Gudhi-Padwa he undertakes a great journey. Before that he takes a bath in the water of a stream. Thus he purifies himself. Barefooted the transformed Raosaheb starts his journey. On his way to the peak the trees, plants, wind all help him. He senses the presence of God in stones. Speaking with the wind, the stones and with the sky he reaches the peak. In such a spirit he enters the temple, there he visualizes the same globe seen in the dream. Thus, ultimately he merges with the elements and there ends his journey successfully.

77 265 II. Thematic Concerns and the Supremacy of the Theme of Spiritual Quest in Bardana: Bardana is, on the whole, a realistic novel. It gives us a more or less accurate picture of life in Marathawada region of the post independence period. The novel gives us a largely convincing story, faithful picture of local customs and beliefs, realistic character portrayal, and a historically true account of the post-independence social scenario in Marathawada (Maharashtra). The principal theme here is the theme of spiritual quest. The principal theme of the novel, namely the spiritual quest, is justly and inherently connected to the theme of journey. A sense of journey dominates the entire novel. This theme is worked out by means of a logical development of events and situations. A theme of human relationship is as important as the principal theme. A subsidiary theme is the decadence of aristocracy that leads to the collapse of personal relationships. This subsidiary theme is closely interwoven with the main theme, and in fact, it is inseparable from it. There is yet another secondary theme, namely the theme of love, but its interconnection with the main theme or the subsidiary theme is not very close or intimate, though the interconnection certainly exists. However, it throws significant light on the human relationships and contributes to the realism of the plot. The theme of human relationship is as important as the theme of spiritual quest in Bardana. By the depiction of the theme of human relationship the author gives us a largely convincing story, a faithful picture of local customs and beliefs and a realistic character portrayal. First, we have to consider the protagonist s relationship with his wife, children and with his brother s family. The protagonist, Raosaheb is more interested in his farm and pet animals than in his wife, Saralavahini.

78 266 This becomes clear as Saralavahini always tells him: "3,^101 ^TCTRRT cqr qwtt Tlftt #T"(You have no interest in sansara. You should have been married to your farm)(10). He loves his daughter, Shalan, and son, Bindya very much. His elder brother Dinkarrao lives alongwith his wife and children in Pune. He always demands money and other goods from Raosaheb. Once without informing Raosaheb, he claims the land of his share and transfers it on the accounts of his sons. This very episode reflects how the brotherly relations are spoiled by the greed of property. Mrs. Rupa, wife of Dinkarrao, deliberately brings out the lift in the relationship of the two brothers. This is just a part of the process of disintegration of the family. The whole aristocratic family has now lost its past glory and prosperity - as their land has been given to the tenants by the state enactment of land reforms (in 1957). It is the abolishment of Vatandari Wit). Its repercussions are seen in the disintegration of family relationships. Therefore, Yuvraj acts against Raosaheb and Rupavahini against Saralavahini, wife of Raosaheb. The disintegration of kinship is also seen in the relationship between Balasaheb s wife and his two sisters, Yami and Rami. Even the relationship between the two brothers Nagusha and Babusha is totally disturbed. The relationship between the overseer Lalasaheb and Shahajirao, the brother of local M.L.A. indicates corruption, power-politics and enmity. Even the relationship between Hakimsaheb and his son is totally disturbed. The relationship between Raosaheb and Bhiva, basically close friends, is destroyed by Tatyarao. The novel thus portrays the disintegration of the aristocratic family as a result of the state land reforms that took place in mid-twentieth century in Maharashtra. One of the main reasons for the disintegration of the Deshpande family is the poverty. Most of the characters suffer because of their traditional habits of luxurious life,

79 267 their failure to understand the reforms and the changes in the society, their inactiveness or lethargy, a lack of true education and selfishness. Thus the plot of the novel depicts various facets of human relationship on one hand, and the disintegration of the aristocratic family on the other. These two themes are significantly interfaced on the background of postindependence social and political ethos in Maharashtra. The only human relationship that stands out from all other relationships is the relationship between the Hakimsaheb and Raosaheb. Ironically enough, Hakimsaheb calls Raosaheb Malik. Though, this is in accordance with the traditional customs of the Jamindar family, in the context of the theme of spiritual quest Hakimsaheb is the teacher of Raosaheb (the Malik). Against the background of the various kinds of human relationships depicted in the novel it is the relationship between Hakimsaheb and Allah and that of Raosaheb with the five elements of the universe ( Earth, water, fire, wind and sky, i.e 3TR, 3TTf^T is significant. The realistic element of the novel is enriched with the depiction of social ethos, the family disintegration, the human relationship, politics and corruption, poverty, deception, the custom of prostitution and drinking. However, Raosaheb s farming is at the centre of the novel. All the equipments of farming are called Bardana («li«hi) in Marathi. The theme of love, though, marginally depicted in the novel, contributes significantly to the realistic element of Bardana. The theme of love is of fourfold nature - Nagusha and Rami, Lalasaheb and Sumanvahini, Yami and her husband and especially Raosaheb and Maina. Nagusha, the symbolic character in the novel, has an attraction for Rami, Balasaheb s younger sister. In this context Deshpande comments : "Tift 3TfWt 3RT?Wf W

80 268 *rcrcrcp W?TRT fcrtt incfffvs, frf^t wtht # 3^- ^5 f^r^r wiw.?ft ^rft TFSJcjT STteWS eft WT WFRT (He had a strong desire that Rami would be his wife. Looking at Rami, secretly, he used to forget himself. He used to look at her long and delicate fingers when she used to comb and braid her hair) (201). The love between Lalasaheb and his wife adds colour to the plot of the novel. Here, the author narrates : tjictt. ^Trft ^IdVl W Hiq <j1ic<4m W WT^TT, W ^ ^?qt qwt ^ <mzm sm m wwm wftt #st. im yro, r^t e5t5 ^ HFT^TT TsftcftcT cfe fj-t, ^ 3RT SPPPFT ^ *P1FT%. *FT ^ TOt WT ZFfT TsitcftcT 1MT, STCPft ^T sppnpt 4)c6-i ^FT^TT (Basically Lalasaheb was romantic by nature. In the beginning Sumanvahini used to get bewildered, but in the course of time she learnt the art of responding to her husband s desires.by now she has become an expert in that art. Both used to fulfill each-other s desires.even in the noon Lalasaheb used to sleep in the rear room of the house, pretending that he had a headache and asking his wife to administer the balm on his forehead.then leaving all her work aside and having the attractive makeup, she used to approach her husband) (390). The love between Yami and her husband has a pathetic tint. Yami is above 35 and her husband, formerly a widower, is above 54. Moreover, he suffers from a disease (fits). The aesthetic aspect of the theme of love is depicted through the relationship between Raosaheb and Maina. Raosaheb belongs to a high caste Brahmin landlord family and Maina to a poor shepherd s family. Maina s brother Bhiva is a friend of Raosaheb and he

81 269 works as a labourer on the farm of Raosaheb. Obviously enough, in the context of the social setup the marriage between Raosaheb and Maina is clearly out of considerations and therefore it doesn t take place. However, the author has depicted their love on a slightly higher level. In this context Deshpande comments:... te tetrl tor! tew #cft, tet tort wtem tel. tor tou tor! r! <trt rto rj! TOR tor4). TO Wfl 3TFT TOTTRl RfT tosrtri TO ftor TOT TOTte, ttefrt TOTWi te RRRRcT wft 3TF *JRRT 3TOT (WT farrirrl. TO SPIaSRRTT PFf TfR RRRT RTRRl tel. frcrt tete TfR TORI WITRRt. Rl fate cffe RJ*R %FT STORt. farr TOR teitofl TORT tetet tel. ter TOR R5t telto 3TTOTTR TOR TOR, TOTO TOF TOTORt. 3T>dTO Rte HRRT> TO R>1 TORF, tel TO TORF, TO TO% TO TOTORTO, Wft ^ttotrt 3T1^ TO ^<ftof 3TFJ;, TO WTcTTcT? TOJjT 3TTWt cidldoil 3TfaTo5 TORT 3TCt Rfetefc TOIRRl. STR# Z# WRIcS ^ cilmick RTOTRRl. fcld^m TOT 3TOt =Ft ter telto TOirote cjzrt tetrrt. far t tort r^t TOR WTRRRT WTR ^ TOR. TOT 3TW tel RRTTOTl Wft RTOTRt M fate tor tete te. terot rto trr Rrote teite TO 3TPTRRT TORT TJ^R Rta tefa te- R'Gf cteft Rt TORTOR Rtet 3TTO jte te TOT" (Maina was Bhiva s younger sister.she was of the same age of Raosaheb. Being of the same age, she used to tease him and behave mischievously with him.when asked by her mother to fetch water for him, she used to lean against

82 270 the big clay water container and avoiding the glances of the others, ask him with her eyebrows in which pot she should bring water.at that time she used to look at the glass and the pot with mischievous eyes.however, it was not possible for him to avoid the glances of others and to make a sign to her by his hand and it compelled him to speak with his eyes.in response she used to smile by turning her head aside. It was she who had taught him the language of the eyes.in the absence of Bhiva (her brother), she used to tease him by calling him Malak, Malak imitating Bhiva s voice. By spreading the black rug (tel ) on the floor, she used to shower her expressions on him: Malak, please take your seat. Should I bring water for you, Malak, how should I bring the water, in a clay pot, in a clay glass or in my hands? And at the same time she used to extend her joined palms towards his mouth passionately.in the same way she used to stare at him with her bold and mischievous eyes. But when mother enters, she used to behave like a stranger. He used to smile at her dramatic acting.lt was she who had taught him how to tell a lie by changing the subject. He had preserved the sweet memories of Maina by engraving them like sculpture on his mind. Even after so many years not a word had been erased from his mind) (17). Raosaheb s feeling for Maina is unchanged; on the contrary even in his elderly life he preserves the memories of Maina, though she is married to somebody else. Here Deshpande narrates: *icwii*ricn' cr srptf wir #cft. wtwr mm frfrt. ifa. t rtrt teft m crtr m ft ^ dwrlh'l RTcRR RRT

83 271 toft TO to* to < 5R(lJ«nc51 ftow to^t ^fdld^t to ter ter wrz tot tot. fto *ttot ft to sto. to fto fcto tot to* tot. *ft to ^ll^lcr 3lto to toft anf^r t^t to tor to to to to to tofrt tor tor to tot ft hcrimi to to. to to f^to ^ TOftt. d~4 TOT to to ^ to 3TOTO TOcT #f - tor todi srratot to tor. to tf rt srratoftr to to to. to to to torpid torft dd to to tot to. ^ torft ft to w TOto ftt RT ftoftr TORT TOtolT totdt tto TO eft TOT TOT to to TOTO ftolt tod to rdt totdt TOFT TOW 3#T ctot TOTlto TOR. fto to TORT TO to TO fdd to to TO to to ctot did TORT. to dtzidd dnjd to ft arito to dto, ftorr tojsf tom tottow TORt ton rw totott totoddt arto. to to to to dtro tor. todr ftott 3TTDjd ton ton toto arrowr todto to, tod tons tod TOTTO TORtt to" (The garden of guava had already cast a magic spell on Raosaheb. It was the symbol of the fond memory of Maina. At the centre of the garden there were two guava trees bearing red fruits; one belonged to him and the other to Maina. He used to rest under those trees.in their childhood, they were caught by the Gardner while stealing the guava fruits. The Gardner had wisely pardened Raosaheb as he belonged to the landlord family, but he had slapped Maina after snatching the guava from her hand. This made Maina very sad. She wept continuously for two long days. Raosaheb promised her to give her enough guavas

84 272 by planting a garden of guavas, when he would grow up. Afterwards, suddenly Maina got married and went to her husband s house. In spite of it, he planted a garden of guava in the fond memory of Maina.The trees were growing rapidly as the years passed.with the growing trees the memories of Maina were gathering into his mind. Every year her memories were flourishing in his mind. After her marriage he did not taste a single guava. Whenever the two guava trees flourished he used to lie down under them closing his eyes for hours together contemplating about the raddish tilt hidden in the fruits. Within his closed eyes he used to visualize the red flames of the fruits and become restless. Occasionally he used to have illusions of Maina standing and smiling by the tree holding the swinging branch in her hand. Sometimes he felt she would close his eyes coming from behind. He also used to imagine the grip of her soft and white hands around his eyes. Then his body used to vibrate blossoming with her memories - the Maina covering her face with some of her hair and mocking at him with bold bright eyes, the Maina laughing with delight behind the green leaves) (pp ). Eventually, die garden of guava which represents Raosahebs love for Maina is taken by Dinkarrao and then by Tatyarao. The pathetic predicament of the theme of love, in this context, is seen when Tatyarao destroys the garden of guava. Thus, the theme of love in the novel is consciously cultivated in order to support the depiction of the theme of spiritual quest. In order to become one with the universal spirit the man has to cross the allurements of the sensory world.it is necessary for the novelist to depict the true nature of the sensory world and hence its depiction.

85 273 The theme of spiritual quest is stated at the very outset of the novel. The protagonist Raosaheb s dream symbolically conveys this theme. In a dream, Raosaheb is lead by a dot of light; he hears a divine call of Alakha Niranjan, he is transformed into a Faqir, he walks to the hill, sees a river and a boat and lastly his attempt to reach the other side of the river and his restless feeling that if once he reaches the other side of the river, he will be cut off forever from his world, so he jumps into die water to come back into his own world. Thus the dream is full of spiritual implications. It instructs Raosaheb to pursue the spiritual journey to realize the self. Raosaheb s soul s craving for communion with the supreme soul is effectively conveyed through the images like a dot of light, a hill, a river, a boat, and his craving to reach the other side of the river. The imagery involved in the dream suggests release from allurements that the sensory J world holds for the seeker. Moreover, the concept represented by the metaphor crossing the river is linked with that of divine call. It suggests that God s will is the supreme factor in the seeker s spiritual accomplishment. About the spiritual significance of the dream Prakash Deshapande writes... t TOT TOT W #^T t o4ioi <TTcT ctfsto (It was not an ordinary or simple dream. It was asking him to undertake the path of Nirvana, leaving behind the allurements of sansara) (20). Further, Hakimsahe, a Muslim saint, makes clear the spiritual implications of the dream to Raosaheb. Hakimsaheb says: pn tfrtt t, ^ w tot t, t, #. Tfcr 3TcTOT ITOl TOT f^strt t, [---- ] 3TFT chl-wchk ^T^ ^ SnPFT 3TTWT Softer trt, cptt ^ %IFft fc #ft (28). w

86 274 Thus, Hakimsaheb offers the most illuminating insight on this issue of Raosaheb s dream, as he is spiritually an enlightened man. In this context Deshpande-Kejakar writes: filter =biciiq< FTcT. (Hakimsaheb had already reached the other side of the river) (29). The spiritually enlightened Hakimsaheb asks Raosaheb to undertake the path towards the realization of God. He also advises him to realize his self (to know thylself). Praksah Deshpande-Kejakar points out the dilemma of Raosaheb who aspires for spiritual experience. He writes: eft 3T^T 3#5^ZTT <bld crq f<dhaid ^tctt. ^ %Rt T# #eft. eft W^Trf^T m W 3TT^t wt. wm #ef W W. (Yet he was still lingering on the bank of the river on his side and there was the river of sensory allurements between them. He could not cross it even in his dream. Though he was aware of it, he was helpless) (29). The phrases q>i3iq< (that side of the river), ^T3R7 (this side of the river), T^t"(the river of allurements).-, significantly contribute a lot to the theme of spiritual quest. While the phrase "hc^-s^i <hidiq<" (that side of the river) stands for the higher spiritual world, 3Tofe^TT 4>ldiq<' '(this side of the river) represents the mundane, materialistic world and the phrase hwmi ^t (the river of allurements)..indicates the allurements that the sensory world holds for the seeker. The event of beating a bull by Raosaheb is employed in the novel as a means of a logical development of the theme of spiritual quest. Once Bhima s bull intrudes into Raosaheb s field and destroys the small plants of chillies. There has been enmity between Bhima and Raosaheb. Naturally, Raosaheb beats Bhima s bull cruelly. But later on he feels very guilty of

87 275 the same. Prakash Deshapande has invested this event in the novel to indicate the gradual process of Raosaheb s spiritual progress. Raosaheb narrates the whole incident of his beating the bull to Hakimasaheb. Hakimasaheb takes the incident as a process of purification of Raosaheb. He indicates the spiritual significance of the incident in the following way: "... ^ 3f^T W. W* 3f^T 4cfR pi? mwi, mm Tk w. fn ^ PRT TfWT W. Mil 3TFI ^ Wl. PRT fato # # 3ST # WP ft wtqttt. % t # tot t [ ] wr m Tst 3^ w 1 <t t, WT 3TFt ^ t, TO cff TOt cr> ^ TO* fft t, m m w* cft ^*r s*r Tsgxi ctmki skr, Wfo (73-74). Thus, realizing that Raosaheb is in the process of realization, Hakimashaeb just provides him with a right direction. Further, Hakimsaheb makes Raosaheb to lessen his attachment towards the field. Raosaheb beats the bull as the bull destroys the small plants of chilies in his farm. Raosaheb tells Hakimasaheb that he can t tolerate any harm done to the field and that s why he has beaten the bull. Thereupon, Hakimsaheb narrates Raosaheb the life cycle of nature: ^Tt kfat t «k«u<; #?fl t. TOri^t # scrt to sfr, to&p. 3rot mm mm. % mm$ 3Tk «K<s <1cf) Wit TO?T 3TT W 1 k RT NW7J K4> TOf ^ 1 3% mtmtw mti rt wmzti ^ 3ft tot 3t. to? tot 3k

88 276 w *t#i if sf* to# tor p. tpt ft*pft wt #. pw 3*} # TO i TOT# ^JT 1R *# w 13#. (76-77). Moreover, by his spiritual preaching Hakimsaheb tries to destroy the pride, ego and arrogance of Raosaheb. Raosaheb thinks ptc*t ^qi«mi mri ctot ITTOFIT RRT: IT *twt ##t.[----- ] t TOWl'^l wmt TOW (How can fanning take place only by God s grace? It needs man s efforts also. We have worked for it for the day and night. This is the magic of man s hand) (77). Hakimsaheb senses the pride, ego, arrogance and ignorance in Raosaheb s speech, and through his spiritual preaching he tries to teach him the all pervasive nature and infinite power of God. He says: # 3ttw f*rr# ^ t, #t wm si# m tor t. # t # to srih# m to# te# t, w ## t. # ip# to*# ^rr^r Rftro i # cmwhifa 4>IW4>K t. TO M TOft ffrt TOT 13# #. ###, W TOtTOT, W ft 37, fl TO37 3TTWt p*rt T# t. TO7 M 31^1^1 pflw t [- - -] W ##T 33 WT t, llf#3> # TO# T 3T #t TO73 t. [- - -] pt Sl#t f^tort 3# TO *3> #t ftocft *#. 3TOT TO # 3* *ftot 3# ft* *ttot *# R##. #t# TO # # pi TO HI# 3# ft* # TO #1 1# RTO. ^TOT TO ### TOT W f. 31# M M ftr# t 3fk 31# TO TORR#t pft# ftrcft t" l#tll#3 1FRTT 1FRTT 31T# % ## ## TRlto 1TO TOcT if ^ «fe TOT # #3. fcs ^o5 TORT 3TRJ7 33RR lift# TO *TOt 3TfT eft 33RT (77).

89 277 This whole passage is but the spiritual gospel of Sufism that gradually brings transformation within Raosaheb s mind. Another event that has been used as a means of a logical development of the theme of spiritual quest is concerned with Raosaheb and Dinkarrao. Dinkarrao, Raosaheb s elder brother serving in Pune, gives the land of his share to Tatyarao; a selfish money-lender and a diplomatic man, without information Raosaheb. This makes Raosaheb very sad and he goes to Hakimsaheb s house to tell him about this incident. There he learns that Hakimsaheb has left his house for his son Abdul gives the possession of his house on rental basis to a wine merchant. Feeling that it is against the religion and ethics, Hakimsaheb leaves the house deciding to stay at the mosque forever. Raosaheb asks him: WT t W* HlqicR 3TF R<$? (But w^y y0u transfer the house to him?) Hakimsaheb s answer to this question leads Raosaheb further on the path of spiritual realization, the path that Raosaheb has unconsciously been treading. Hakimsaheb answers: f^rtot WKT t sto to to to ^ it tt. m ^ i iot to ftoto wtqf it # wm, toto to W wimz ^ wfto to t, wj to wmt to, igmt tot totot t to to to 3?TR to toto (127). Raosaheb feels ashamed of his thoughts those relating to mundane, materialistic world. Hakimsaheb learns about Dinkararao s act of giving the land to Tatyarao and expresses his concern over it, but at the same time his consoling and soothing words help Raosaheb to get away from the allurements of the sensory world. Hakimsaheb says: to to W t 3T^to tot t- t to # torrcr mm t, to to to to 1 to tour toft to sttct it, uwm mi t. stcto to to 3ttto ^ to wmt mi m t.

90 278 #TR<r1 f^tcrt 3R t W^TT 3?RT 3TPT 3RS>R ^ ^t (128). Thus, Hakimsaheb says to Raosaheb whatever that we possess is given to us by Allah.To keep it with us or to take it away depends upon His will. It is not a matter of worry; instead it is a matter of understanding. Allah is providing you the freedom by unburdening you. In this way, you will feel a sense of closeness to Allah. Thus, Dinkarrao s episode in the novel essentially and significantly adds something to the theme of spiritual quest. It is after this episode Raosaheb decides: Jcj? ipf Wl?05 ^05 -mm\w JR (It is not good to entangle into anything. It is necessary to get rid of everything) (129). This whole episode helps to the logical development of the theme of spiritual quest. The theme of spiritual quest is, further strengthened with the help of certain symbolic events and situations. In the development of the theme of spiritual quest certain events like Raosaheb s trances, his swimming in a doh (the area of deep water in a river), and his attachment with the elements of nature and with pet animals contribute a lot. There are certain symbolic passages in the novel which confirm the supremely of the theme of spiritual quest. After swimming in a deep doh, Raosaheb starts wearing the clothes and feels a very strange experience. About his strange experience Prakash Deshpande-Kejkar comments: Sc5^5 r*tr 3TW IWrT W MSTO'dsR 3RT #cf. 3?RfT wr m wm ^ stm sm. t rwr R^m w ^cf. t sfer rr^r t JR ^ ^ 3Trf^T R RFm\ WR RRR ^Tf^ (Gradually he begins to dress up and feels himself burdened with every piece of cloth. He did not want to bear the burden. It was necessary to lessen the mundane burden

91 279 gradually. Then only the mind will become light and this illusory floting life will reach the other side of the river) (111). Moreover, there are some other passages in the novel which depict Raosaheb s spiritual quest. They are: cwt?*tt fctwlt M*T ^ ^FT^t wr fe, m 3nw qt %5T1WT WFT% M 3RFTt.?W STTTeWT ^TT RRJTFFR W <;i'dlc ^1 ( since that dream he develops unknowingly a special affection for that Faqir. It is the Faqir who awakened me from the deep sleep, made me to visualize the Divine spirit, and showed me the path of salvation; otherwise I would have been entangled into the allurements of sensory world) (124). The words in the above passages like dream, affection for Faqir, deep sleep (4>ioi^lM) Rapsaheb s awakening, allurements of sensory world, way to salvation significantly point out Raosaheb s soul s craving for communion with the Divine. Again the following lines also point out his craving for a more lasting spiritual path that he wants to undertake since the beginning : 3TOT $ W wht, srte qwiit-ft era wt Tnftt. amt w. ^ maw\ RtFrcJT 3TRTR '311 mki 3T3 (Now this path has to be changed. It is necessary to undertake a more lasting path where there are no more obstacles; a path that goes through all the allurements of the sensory world) (161). Here '3T$m 'HWUiMl RlZ (a more lasting path) significantly stands for spiritual path. Raosaheb craves to undertake the spiritual path - a more lasting path leaving behind the sensory world of allurements. In order to reach that inaccessible and unfathomable region, one should have an unburdened freedom only then he may be able to float freely on the spiritual path. Step by step Raosaheb becomes free from his burdens and gradually he comes