RAVAL, Stephanie R.

August 10, 2009

III-30 AB/BSE Literature

Asian Literature

Unveiling the Face of India in Santha Rama Rau’s

On Learning to Be an Indian

Endowed with richness of culture, India gained the admiration as well

as the criticism of the world. As its face was adorned with the veil of rigid

customs and traditions, Westerners see the embroidery of strictness and

inflexibility resulting to stagnation and poverty. In Santha Rama Rau’s essay

entitled “On Learning to Be an Indian,” this veil was lifted up to show the

face of India’s culture – a culture of love, of faith, of respect, of strong

disposition and of innate pureness.

The soul of the essay wanders around the antagonistic views of a

Western mind to the culture that is enveloping her. Her grandmother, her

mother and the writer herself were pivotal figures in the essay. Her

grandmother, whom she called Asha, is the embodiment of traditional Hindu

beliefs. Her mother represents a modern Hindu woman who sees Hindu

traditions perfectly, but seeks refinement. The writer, whose eyes were

covered by ignorance, is the representative of Western attitude and ideas.

The essay involves a battle of perspectives between these three pairs of

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eyes as they examine Hindu ideas on social stratification, marriage, rituals,

role of women, education, joint family system, economy, and progress.

Nurtured by a more liberated culture, the writer had difficulties in

conforming to the rigid standards that were placed in front of her. Mistakes

were always at her hand and ignorance in her mouth. She delved into every

situation with I-do-not-understand exclamations. Sometimes, even with I-

think-that’s-ridiculous thoughts, especially towards the prayers, rituals and

caste marks. Daily rituals and prayers were performed to ensure the general

welfare of an individual, a group of people or an entire society and as part of

one’s dharma. Caste marks, on the other hand, are of spiritual significance

and they were applied in a manner prescribed in the scriptures. The true

meanings of these were unknown to the writer.

Because of the writer’s ignorance, problems rose one by one, starting

with her dealings with the servants. One of the most highly criticized

conventions of India is the 3500-year old caste system. In the essay, it is

exemplified that servants, who are low-caste people should be treated

differently by the high-caste Brahmins. They are not equals. The system has

been an aberration of the Indian psyche. Asha, who believe in the power of

this system, believes that they are ‘united in diversity.’

The Bhagavad-Gita defines the works of each caste:

The works of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras are

different, in harmony with the three powers of their born nature.

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 The works of a Brahmin are peace; self-harmony, austerity, and

purity; loving-forgiveness and righteousness; vision and wisdom

and faith.

These are the works of a Kshatriya: a heroic mind, inner fire,

constancy, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity and

noble leadership.

Trade, agriculture and the rearing of cattle is the work of a

Vaishya. And the work of the Shudra is service.

The Hymn of Man from the Rig-Veda vividly portrays the different

castes as different parts working together in a single body:

When they divided Purusha, how many portions did they

make?

What do they call his mouth, his arms? What do they call his

thighs and feet?

The Brahman was his mouth, of both his arms were the

Kshatriya made

His arms became the Vaishya, from his feet the Sudra was

produced.

Giving a human form to the Indian society, it can be said that the

priests and teachers are its expressive face, its guide for Hindu teachings;

the warriors and rulers, its protective arms; traders and farmers, its

supporting thighs; and, servants and laborers, its transporting feet.

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 The caste system rooted from the domination of the Aryans who ruled

the country around 1500 B.C. In the gulf on these years, it had endured

different attempts of eradication. At present, a Brahmin physician would

have to wrap Sudra’s skin before feeling his pulse for fear of defilation of his

soul, low caste people cannot use the wells of the high caste, and Brahmins

would always be married to a Brahmin. On a Western view, this is pure

discrimination and should be abolished. In an essay written by J. Arith

Kumar, an Indian national, he pointed out that “any religion that refuses to

reform with the times will be relegated to oblivion and insignificance.” A

modern Hindu like the mother in the essay seeks reform and not destruction

which is obviously impossible.

It is very true that this can never be totally dissolved, for the bonds of

the system lies in the Indian spirit as part of their nation’s identity. And this

will survive even to the harsh forces of modernization and urbanization. In

the essay, Asha did not expect the writer to become a Hindu because of the

lucid evidence that her granddaughter will never meet the standards of their

religion. But, she expected her to become true to the Brahmin blood that

runs in her veins – to maintain the dignity of their Brahmin family.

The caste system does not entail, however, total indifference of the

higher caste to those of lower caste. Their way is social distance, not

absence of concern. In the essay, Asha discussed how servants should be

treated: “By all means, we should give the servants medicines if they are

sick, see that their children were well treated, visit their quarters and make

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sure that their rooms were kept clean, even give their children education –

which they would never get if we left to their families – but we should

always keep our social distance.” The writer’s grandmother also refers to

them as “those Indians less fortunate than ourselves.”

Thus, the ‘unity in diversity’ exemplified in the Hymn of Man and

Bhagavad-Gita, is the prevailing idea of the caste system. Westerners may

view the caste system as a form of injustice. But it is not. It is as normal as

one uses his mouth to eat and his feet to walk. It does not seek to

discriminate lower caste from the upper caste just to make life comfortable

for the latter while miserable for the former. It seeks to designate tasks for

each part while ‘working together’ for the benefit of their country. One may

be unfortunate to be born as a Sudra, but this does not mean that they are

not given the respect appropriate to them. The grandmother in the essay

says, “The real Indians are the villagers, the peasants. Poverty and work on

the land is so much a part of their daily living that they must have a

tremendous, inclusive faith to make such living possible.” This entails that

‘faith’ keeps the Hindu caste system alive throughout the years. Although

the demands of modern life may cause changes in the system, a culture

founded on faith and on love for one’s country will continue to resist.

Another aspect of Hindu tradition that is subject to the critical eyes of

the world is the role of women in the Hindu society. The three pivotal figures

in the essay are the different types of women, the conservative, the liberal

and the ignorant, viewing the portrait of a Hindu woman in their own

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perspectives. The views on rituals, marriage, education, and economy were

also held in feminine light in the essay.

Traditional female values and duties are within the women’s dharma.

As a child, she is expected to be obedient and respectful to her parents and

elders, to control her greed and passions and to speak truthfully and

pleasingly. In a household life, she is expected to serve her husband and

treat his friends and relatives with affection without mixing intimately with

other men, to be expert in household affairs, to dress and decorate herself

to please her husband and to love, protect, and nurture children. In later life,

she is expected to dedicate time to spiritual practices and to give counsel to

younger family members.

This is the dharma that Sita, the heroine of Ramayana, lived by. Sita,

the faithful wife of Rama, is considered to embody all the virtues of a

traditional Hindu woman and has been held up as a role model for Hindu

girls to follow. This is also the dharma that the writer’s grandmother

faithfully embraces in her heart. However, her granddaughter, born and

raised in England, is more susceptible to the ideas of the Westerners.

The greatest fault of the writer in the course of her essay is when she

invited John her friend, and an Englishman, to tea. This was considered an

outrageous behavior by her grandmother because the traditional Hindu

society does not allow dating or mixture of sexes. Hindu women are

expected to have a womanly reserve. But still, Asha rejected her

granddaughter’s suggestion to withdraw the invitation because when John

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was invited, he is already considered a guest. And as a host, Asha believed

that their family should extend their hospitality to him, no matter what.

However, they were not left by themselves. Chaperoning was customary for

a Hindu woman. She was not allowed to be left alone. They had tea with the

gardeners as their audience.

The writer admitted that she was influenced by the sensational

inaccuracies in Katherine Mayo’s Mother England. Mayo criticized the

patriarchal society of India and believed that “Indian womanhood as a whole

is a state of slavery, superstition, ignorance and degradation.” Among the

issues looked upon by critics like Mayo are the child marriage, arranged

marriage, and restrictions on intercaste and intercommunity marriages.

Mayo thought that child marriage involves exploitation of women

leading to early pregnancy. However, this is proven to be false in Santha

Rama Rau’s essay. The writer’s grandmother married when she was nine, but

this is only a betrothal ceremony and the real marriage happened a couple of

years later. The purpose of this betrothal is to train the girl to be a perfect

wife and mother in the near future, not to make women suffer from early

pregnancy.

Evident in Indian literature like Ramayana and Panchatantra, arranged

marriage is considered to be a central fabric of Hindu tradition. In Ramayana,

the king of Janaka agreed to give his daughter Sita to the man who would be

able to string the great bow given to him by the gods. Through this

arrangement, Rama won Sita. In one of the stories of the Panchatantra

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entitled “Mouse-Maid Made Mouse,” Yajnavalkya, the hermit father of the

maiden decided to find a suitable husband for his child when she reached the

age of twelve. By the word ‘suitable,’ it means that he should find someone

of their own status. It was exemplified that:

Where wealth is very much the same

And similar the family fame,

Marriage (or friendship) is secure;

But not between the rich and poor.

Inter-caste marriage is still a taboo nowadays.The reason, as what is

exemplified a while ago, was social distance. A Brahmin should marry a

Brahmin. A Shudra should marry a Shudra. They must maintain the caste of

their forefathers and accept the tasks and way of living assigned to them.

Those who had inter-caste marriage had to face big hurdles in the light of

their decision to defy all the basic norms of the society. Among these is the

discord between the families which can lead to mutual disharmony between

the couples. In the essay, grandmother gaudily told the writer that even if

she had lost all her rights to her religion and caste, it does not give her the

freedom to marry someone outside the Brahmin caste and ruin their family

name.

Intercommunity marriage was another concept introduced in the essay.

If a woman is from Kashmir, her husband must be from Kashmir too. This is

one of the social rules broken by the writer’s mother when she was a girl.

Those who choose to have intercommunity marriage are held in the same

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light as those who risked having inter-caste marriage. Because of her

defiance, the writer’s mother is still not well-received by people.

Marriage in India is considered to be a marriage of families rather than

a marriage of individuals. If one could understand this concept, he will see

the beauty of arranged marriages and think that this is the best. The

approval and support of the families of both sides are essential to a healthy

marriage. Moreover, this kind of marriage proved to be more successful than

love marriages. Indian culture sees the real love as something which does

not spring from romance, but from a properly arranged union between

individuals.

Another issue present in the essay is the right of women to education

and career. Women are denied opportunities men have. This led the writer’s

mother for another cultural defiance. She entered a medical school in

Madras. Being the only girl in the class, she was immediately taken out from

the school and pursued the study of English literature. Later, she earned a

living by lecturing in a Madras college. The writer’s mother understood their

traditions well. In her heart, she is always a Hindu. However, she could not

contain her dreams inside the box of these traditions.

This seclusion of women may lead some to believe that the Hindus put

their women on a low position. On the contrary, in the traditional Hindu

culture, women are held in the highest regard and are more respected than

in the West. Tracing back the history, women occupied a very important

position in ancient India. ‘Sakhti’ is a feminine term for ‘power’ because

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Hindus believe that all male power comes from the feminine. Women at that

time could also study and teach the Vedas. They enjoyed rights of property

and took share in social and religious rites. However, the status of women

declined as Islamic Invasion came into the picture. During such aggressions

the honor and chastity of women often became the casualties. As a result,

Hindu society became more protective about its women and started to

restrict their freedom. This entails that the restrictions on women did not

come from a low regard by men, but out of love and out of protection for the

sake of their honor.

Santha Rama Rau did not paint the Hindu woman as someone who is

entirely powerless. Feminine colors were vibrant in their role in a joint family.

Although they have no legal rights, the wife of the oldest son can be the

head of the household. And with their leonine powers, they can have the

absolute control over the members of the family for they hold and dispense

all the money in the household. The personification of this autocracy in the

essay is Asha. Even when the joint system in India is declining, she still had

the powerful influence over her family, though not in absolute degree.

Having the eye of an outsider, the writer would always feel that the

conventions of India are hindrances to progress. Her mother, although born a

Hindu, would still believe on progress and the need for change. But Asha,

would remain faithful to their religion and philosophy and content herself

with the progress she knows – their journey from the great age of India.

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Among the three, it is Asha who had a clearer picture of the real face of

India.

India is not a poor country. It may be on the base in terms of monetary

wealth. But, it is on the summit by the richness of its values and traditions. In

the essay, Asha said: “Hinduism… the most rigid of beliefs, the most realistic

of philosophies and it determines everything from food to their morals.” It is

in India where religion and philosophy are tightly interwoven to the people’s

way of living. It is in India where culture is not displayed in the museums but

in the hearts of all men. India was viewed by the Westerners as a place

where people imposed rigid rules upon their people, denying progress,

ignorant to the demands of the modern world. In the end, it is the

Westerners who proved to be ignorant, who sees only the surface of Indian

culture without digging to its true richness – faith, respect, honor, love and

purity – which the gods bestowed upon them.

Sources:
Books

Grihault, Nicki. Culture Smart! India. Random House, 1996.

Perry, Marvin. A History of the World. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1985.

Websites

Jayaram V. “Hinduism and Women.” Hinduwebsite. 17 July 2009

<http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_women.asp>
Kamat, Vikas. “India’s Arranged Marriages.” 1 Jun. 2005. 8 Aug. 2009
<http://www.kamat.com/indica/culture/sub-cultures/arranged_marriage.htm>
Murthy, J. S. “Restorative Justice and India’s Caste System.” New World Outlook. 1
Aug 2009. <http://gbgm-umc.org/nwo/99ja/india2.html>

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