INTRODUCTION

MULK RAJ Anand: His Life and Work

Mulk Raj Anand was born on 12th December 1905 in Peshawar. He
graduated with honors from Khalsa College, Amritsar in 1924. He
went to England and studied at University College London and
Cambridge University. He completed his PhD in 1929. Mulk Raj
Anand also studied and later lectured at League of Nations School of
Intellectual Cooperation in Geneva. Between 1932 and 1945, he
lectured intermittently at worker Educational Association in London.
Mulk Raj Anand was initiated into the literary career by a family
tragedy, instigated by the rigidity by the caste system. Anands first
prose essay was a response to the suicide of an aunt, who had been
excommunicated by his family for sharing a meal with a Muslim.
In 1930s and 1940s Mulk Raj Anand divided his time between
London and India. He joined the struggle for independence, but also
fought with the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. After the war,
Anand returned permanently to India and settled in Bombay. In
1946, he founded the Fine-Arts Magazine Marg. He also became the
director of Kutub publishers. From 1948 to 1966, Anand taught at
Indian Universities. Mulk Raj Anand was the fine arts chairman at
Lalit Kala Academy (National Academy of Arts) from 1965 to 1970.
In 1970, he became President of Lokayuta Trust, for creating a
community and cultural centre in the village of Hauz Khas, New
Delhi.
Mulk Raj Anand was an Indian novelist, and short story writer. He
was among the first writers to incorporate Punjabi and Hindustani
idioms into English. His stories depicted a realistic and sympathetic
portrait of the poor in India. He was the first Indian novelist to make
an untouchable, the hero of a novel.
Untouchable is Anands first novel and his most compact and
artistically satisfying work. This novel describes one day in the life of
18-year-old Bakha, who is treated like dirt by all Hindus just because
his profession is to clean latrines. Artistically, it is the most perfect
of anands earlier novels. The distinction of anands writings lies in
capturing Bakhas work ethics- Bakha tackles his odious job with a
conscientiousness that invests his movements with beauty.
The next novel coolie has a wider canvas and is more diffuse in
structure. Munoo, a young orphan, works at a variety of odd jobs at
Daulatpur, Bombay and Simla till he dies at age 15 of tuberculosis
brought on by undernourishment. Munoo is exploited not because of
his caste but because he is poor.

While Untouchable and Coolie are epic novels Two leaves and a
budis a dramatic novel about the plight of the laborers in a tea
plantation in Assam; the novel fails because Anands approach is too
simplistic; the English owners are shown as unmitigated villains.
Anands next work was The Lal Singh Trilogy (group of three novels)The Village, Across the Black Waters, The Sword and The Sickle.
The Big Heart (1945), one of Anands best novels deals with the
traditional coppersmith who feel threatened by mechanization.
The Private Life of An Indian Prince (1953), a study of neurotic
maharajah is confused and disorganized. It is also considered as his
best novel.
The Seven Summers (1951), is a lyrical account of early childhood,
primarily from the childs point of view.
Morning Face (1968), describes the life of the protagonist, Krishna
Chander Azad up to the age of 15, and we get a vivid picture of the
brutality that once passed for school teaching.
Anand has about seventy short stories to his credit published in six
collections from time to time all through his career. These
collections are: The Lost Child and Other Stories(1934), The Tractor
and The Corn Goddess and Other Stories(1947), Reflections on The
Golden Bed and Other Stories(1953), The Power of Darkness and
Other Stories(1959), Lajwanti and Other Stories(1966) and Between
Tears and Laughter(1973). In addition to these also retold old Indian
tales in two collections Indian Fairy Tales (1946) and More Indian
Fairy Tales (1961).
In The Lost Child and Other Stories, the author gives the expression
to the feelings of the human heart and its indomitable spirit to know
and conquer. The Barbers Trade Union and Other Stories (1944) is
the expression of universal feeling of the human heart, expression of
the sufferings of Indian during the freedom struggle.
In The Tractor and The Corn Goddess (1947), most stories depicts
universal human feelings. In his second book A Lament on the Death
of a master of Arts (1939), which is a long story, we see the physical
and mental sufferings of an Indian youth in peculiar Indian situation,
where people regard physical labor as undignified.
The Price of Bananas and A Promoter of Quarrels show a coolie,
a fruit vendor and a pair of cowherd. Women respectively, under
paid and cheated by the haves. In Boots, the young widow of a
dead soldier is not allowed even to keep his boots as a momento,
when the house is auctions. Other stories which reveals Anands

typical concern with lower ranks of the society are Birth, The
Prodigal Son, The Tractor and The Corn Goddess.
A dominant feature of Anands novels is that he frequently refers to
the concepts of life as journey. Every one of his protagonists takes
some sort of journey and the heroes symbolize the different stages
in the spiritual journey of a pilgrim. In his novels, we can see the
realistic presentation of life and he also presents the ugly and
seamy side of life.
Anand is a humanist; a proletarian or Marxist humanist who does
not believe in the theory of Arts for arts sake but writes for the sake
of life. He is a born storyteller and he can narrate a tale grippingly
and convincingly.
HUMANISM
The word Humanism has a number of meanings and because
authors and speakers do not clarify which meaning, they intend.
There are different types of Humanism -- Literary Humanism,
Renaissance Humanism, Cultural Humanism, Philosophical
Humanism, Christian Humanism, Modern Humanism, Secular
Humanism, Religious Humanism etc.
Humanism is a realistic philosophy. Humanism is the philosophy for
those in love with life. Humanists take responsibility for their own
lives and relish the adventure of being part of new discoveries
seeking new knowledge and exploring new options.
Humanism is a way of looking at the world by emphasizing the
importance of human beings- their nature and place in the universe.
Humanism means love of man with all his weaknesses, instincts and
impulses. It may be defined as system of thought in which human
interest, values and dignity are held dominant.
Anand is a great humanist. His insistence on the dignity of man
irrespective caste, creed and wealth, his plea for the practice of
compassion as a living value, his conception of the whole man, the
profound importance the attaches to art and poetry as instrument
for developing whole men, his crusade against superstition,
feudalism and imperialism are some of the chief characteristic of
Anands humanism. Like true humanist, he rejects God, fate,
religion, past and future. He believes in the supremacy of man.
And like most other humanists starts with a declaration of his
immense faith in Protagorean dictum, Man is the measure of all
things. Anand admires man and believes that man is the maker and
breaker of worlds. However, this admiration does not bind him to
mans weakness. He does take cognizance of mans greed, lust,

selfishness, cruelty and uncertainty. He has a genuine respect for

man, love for him and faith in his ability to live a life full of dignity.
According to Anand, man can solve his many problems with the help
of imagination, reason and advancements of science. The theme of
his work is the whole man and the whole gamut of human
relationship. To him highest reality in the world is the whole man
and not God and the supernatural.
Anands humanism recognized the fact that the pain and cruelty are
two other serious maladies of the universe. Nevertheless, it is not
unavoidable. However, with aid of advancing science and
technology, and with practice of love and compassion for the weak
and low, it is possible to reduce and even remove misery and
unhappiness.
To him, education is a powerful instrument for social reconstruction.
In his opinion, the conquest of pain should be the supreme goal of
all individuals and all nations. He believes that belief in the
brotherhood of men is a great virtue, which needs to be sincerely
practiced by all.
Anands philosophy of humanism is a deep rooted enemy of
Fascism, Feudalism, Imperialism and all other similar tendencies,
which come in the way of mans efforts to achieve freedom. In his
opinion, these are the forces, which divide men into faction and
classes, so it must be eschewed. His philosophy believes in
democracy, socialism, and the peaceful co-existence of all nations
etc. he further says that all people must have freedom- social,
economic, political, intellectual and emotional- without any
encroachment up on each others freedom.
Bigoted and parochial nationalism means only more war and no one
who has had knowledge of the vast destructive capacities of super
scientific weapons can desire war. According to Anand, art and
science are complementary faculties. They should together
endeavor to make man happier and nobler.
Salient aspects of Anands humanism are as follows:

The highest reality in the world is man, the whole man and not God
and the supernatural. There is no life hereafter and man has only
here and now.

Institutionalized religion, therefore, is a matter best left to individual

preference.

Mans highest duty is to realize his full potential for a complete life.
This can be achieved by the acceptance of the principles of perfect

equality between man and woman the brotherhood of all man, and
the right of every person to enjoy social, economic, political,
intellectual and economic freedom.

The forces that come in the way of achieving this ideal are the
various kinds of barriers that separate men- differences in
nationality, culture, religion, creed and caste; the numerous forms of
exploitation of man by man, such as Capitalism, Colonialism,
Fascism, Feudalism, Communalism etc. these forces must be
effectively destroyed.

The forces through which man can achieve his ideal of a full and
happy life in an international community.

The characteristics of Anands humanism tell that the highest

potential of man is his own sanction, not God. Man is the master of
his destiny; so fatalism is rejected. All people must have liberty and
equality. War is a deadly evil. It must be avoided if mankind is to
survive at all. There is no god and there is no supernatural. Religion
is a matter, which needs to be left to the private conscience of the
individual and should not be classified into empty rituals and
meaningless customs.