Bits of Life 2

M-10 Words-1075

of Gaurmohan, known as Gora in short. He was a staunch Hindu nationalist. The story consists of how Gora came upon a stunning truth that he was in fact an Irish orphan adopted by Anandmoyi, who represents a universal, caste-free love.

The novel Gora set in Calcutta of eighteen eighties, was published in nineteen ten. It depicts the journey of Gora from being a narrow minded Hindu traditionalist to a broad minded individual without the demarcations of caste or religion embracing universal brotherhood.

There are several themes in Gora. There is the theme of love, the two parallel love stories of two pairs of lovers i.e. Gora and Sucharita, Binoy and Lalita.

The events are set against politics and religion. There is a very well presented conflict between Brahmo samaj and Hinduism.

Let us examine what Brahmo Samaj is.

Brahmo samaj was founded on August 20, 1828, by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in Calcutta in 1828 to reform Hinduism through rationalism and monotheism. It promoted the worship of one, formless God, and it opposed idolatry, the caste system, and social evils like Sati, while encouraging widow remarriage and education.

Incidentally, sati was a bad practice in some places in India. When the husband died, the wife was made to sit with his dead body and get immolated in the funeral fire. That was inhuman and a brutal practice that Raja Ram Mohan Roy pledged to end. He was successful in this mission.

The story revolves around Gora short for Gormohan, a man of tall stature, fair and young. His voice has a baritone attracting a wide circle friends that considers him their leader. His friend Binoy or Binoybhushan is also a friendly and handsome man. He meets Sucharita, an adopted daughter of Paresh Babu of Brahmo Samaj institution. He helps Sucharita when her wagon crashes before his house. From here on we see Binoy visiting Sucharita and the family of Paresh Babu. He also meets the real brother of Sucharita along with Paresh Babu’s real daughters, Lavanya, Lalita and Leela.

When Gora comes to know that Binoy has been visiting Paresh Babu’s house, he accuses him of being in love with Sucharita, a person of Brahmo samaj faith. We understand that this is because of the ongoing conflict between Brahmo samaj and Hinduism.

When Gora visits Paresh Babu at his house, an argument between him and Haran Babu, a member of the Brahmo Samaj takes place. The latter is engaged to marry Sucharita.

What happens subsequently was something the Gora never dreamt of. He falls in love with Sucharita despite the fact that she belongs to Brahmo samaj, a sworn enemy of Gora. He feels guilty because he pledged unto himself that he would never marry.

We can glean from his example that love crosses all borders.

He leaves home on a long journey as a form of punishment for himself.

Before that, a character named Varadasundari who is the wife of Paresh Babu is introduced. She gets on well with the Magistrate Brownlow and arranges a skit at his house with Binoy and Lalita playing the lead roles.

When Gora reaches a village on his journey to an unknown destination, he takes notice of the way the villagers were harassed by the district superintendent and the magistrate. He launches a rebellion against the magistrate and vows to bring justice to the suffering community of the village.
The magistrates sends Gora to jail for a month without trial. When Lalita hears of this incident, unable to tolerate injustice, she reaches the village by a boat with Binoy. Now this ignites another controversy.

A Brahmo samaj girl traveling with a Hindu boy gives rise to scandal among the members of the Brahmo samaj. To avoid further escalation of events in the society, Binoy agrees to become a member of the Brahmo samaj. This was promptly being objected by Gora.

Paresh Babu asks Sucharita to shift to her own house, which he bought for her with her father's money. This was because when her aunt Harimohini visits Sucharita, Paresh Babu’s wife objects to her visit because she was a Hindu.

Later, Binoy and Lalita get married much to the displeasure of Gora. When Gora starts visiting Sucharita, her aunt objects to his visits because she wanted Sucharita to marry a person whom she thinks is a suitable match for her. But Sucharita rejects this match and is willing to accept the attentions of Gora.

In the end we see a curious twist in the story.

Krishnadayal, the father of Gora confesses a hidden truth to Gora before he breathes his last. He tells him that Gora is not his real son. He was actually the son of an Irish Military officer, who was a Christian. They met in a place called Etawah in North India and became good friends. When the war broke out, Gora’s Military father died. His mother who was pregnant had no other place to turn to. So she was given shelter by Krishnadayal. She delivers the boy child and dies soon afterward. Krishnadayal has raised him since then as his ow son.

On hearing this fact, Gora, world crashes making him feel crushed under the weight of a harsh reality. The reader feels extreme sympathy for Gora. His principled life of a Hindu falls apart. He sees the futility of his lifelong sacrifice.

The author shows the change and evolution in the character of Gora in the most visible and appealing manner.
The final lines by Gora are impressive.

“"Today I am really an Indian! In me there is no opposition between Hindu, Musalman and Christian. To-day every caste in India is my caste, every food is my food"”.

To Anandmoyi, who represents the essence of Indian thought, he says,
“"Mother, You are my mother!... You have no caste, you make no distinctions, and have no hatred... you are only the image of our welfare! It is you who are India".

Embracing True Identity: "I am free, I am a Hindu no longer".

This novel is a popular for analysis and discussion among students and scholars alike in India and other countries as well.
Of course now the trend of being strictly traditional has changed to a large extent. At least for the well-educated and rational Indians who do not think in the way their forbears might have thought. Indians are now choosing their life partners from across the country and abroad.
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