Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Nayantara Sahgal is an Indian English writer known for her political novels written in the stream of National Consciousness. She is a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, the daughter of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit and Barrister Sitaram Pandit. Jawahar Lal Nehru was her maternal uncle. Her first literary work was a historical memoir Prison and Chocolate Cake (1954), which includes her childhood experiences of her family during the Indian independence movement in the 1930s and '40s.
Her first novel, ' A Time to be Happy’ (1963), explores the problems caused by changing order as India inched closer to Independence during the late 1940s. The story depicts the period of Indian independence and tells about the Gandhian movement during the nineteen-forties. The novel has a pre-independence context while the story moves into the free India and the corresponding challenges faced by common Indians. The story is set from 1932 to 1948 and deals with three generations of a rich Zamindar family in Saharanpur, going through the changes as India moves towards freedom. The characters face the challenge of Gandhian ideology. Some hesitated between loyalty to the British and allegiance to the mother country.
The novel's narrator is Sanad, the protagonist, and an omniscient observer.
Characters of A Time to Be Happy:
Sanad Shivpal is the main character of the novel. He is a young Anglicized man of a rich Zamindar family in Saharanpur. He was educated in an English convent school. He is the elder son of Zamindar Govind Narayan Shivpal and heir to the mills and businesses of his father. While Sanad is living an easy life, he is influenced by the Gandhian call to serve the nation and people. He begins facing a crisis in his life as if he is uprooted by his roots and wishes to regain his Indianness. Kusum is wife of Sanad. She is a modern woman with independent thoughts. Unlike Sanad, she prefers her Indianness to the Anglicized version of the rich society. After his marriage to Kusum, Sanad feels a strong urge to join the Gandhian movements and begins wearing Khadi. Govind Narayan Shivpal is Sanad’s father, a Zamindar, and a successful businessman. He is loyal to British government and doesn’t wish to assist Gandhian movements in any manner. He is further troubled by the idea that Zamindari will be abolished after independence. When he realizes that his elder son Sanad is influenced by Gandhi, he gets disappointed. Lakshmi is Govind Narayan’s wife. Govind and Lakshmi are depicted as a happy couple as both consider each other equals. Lakshmi is just like her husband and enjoys materialistic pleasure and wealth. Ammaji is Govind Narayan’s mother, and grandmother of Sanad. She is a strong-minded woman who prefers Indianness and hates the fact that her son and grandsons prefer British values and Western lifestyles. She is highly individualistic and refuses to submerge her identity into that of her husband. They belong to two different worlds-he is an indolent, pleasure-loving man and she disdains luxury and resists his efforts to mold her to his liking. She is neither orthodox nor against modernity. She wants the younger generation to know their roots and culture. Dadaji is an Anglicized man who enjoys luxury and indolence. While her husband is totally anglicized and prefers Western ways, she disapproves of her husband’s way of living but continues within the fold of the family. She has the spirit of independence that makes her realize the value of self-help and the dignity of labor.
Harish Shivpal is Sanad’s younger brother, a flamboyant, extravagant, anglicized, and pleasure-loving man. He believes that India is not a land for great people and enjoys his foreign visits. He rebukes the Gandhian volunteers. Maya Shivpal is Harish’s wife. She is highly individualistic but prefers to avoid conflicts with her husband. She prefers to remain silent and follow her husband silently. Her marriage with Harish is shown as a failure because of the difference between their attitude and personalities. She had the cool purity of the eucalyptus, as compared with his extravagant gulmohar. She was the mirror-smooth lake to his rushing waterfall. Yet, she continues to remain a silent, obedient woman and suffers because she refuses to submerge her individuality and cling to her personal identity at all costs.
Sohan Bhai and Kunti Bhen are a married couple, Gandhian volunteers, and freedom fighters. They run a home for children orphaned during the Bengal famine. They are depicted as a happy couple, just like Govind and Lakshmi because of the similarities between their personalities and ideals.
Mr. Trent is a British businessman. Sanad works in his firm. Mr. Trent likes Sanad and supports him but when he acknowledges that Sanad is gradually becoming Gandhian, he objects to it.
Summary of A Time to Be Happy:
The novel begins in 1948, after Independence. Sanad, a middle-aged man narrates his story. He used to be a successful man before the independence. He has the best education, a luxurious life, a huge inheritance, and a high-paying job. He is shown as a "nearly English young man brought up to be a success, puzzled and uncertain about his future" in the independent India. He mentions the law of Karma that one’s next life is a causal extension of one’s deeds performed in the past and present lives. All living beings are thus deemed to be self-trapped in the eternal cycle of birth, death, and re-birth (Punarjanma) until moksha is attained through intelligent action and meditation.
He remembers his past while describing his family members. His father enjoys a luxurious life and hates the fact that Sanad is influenced by Gandhian ideologies. His mother too supports her husband. However, his grandmother Ammaji believes that the younger generation must respect their Indian roots. Sanad used to enjoy the Western lifestyle. He studied English history and literature and admired English poets. His moral and ideological thinking was based on the British system. He used to feel that though his body was in India, his brain doesn’t belong here. He might as well be an Englishman except for the color of his skin. And he was almost happy with his life. But then he came in contact with some Gandhian volunteers and soon he began feeling an existential crisis. Because of her grandmother, Ammaji, Sanad has a profound respect for tradition. He is aware of the political and social forces too and after contemplating his choices, he joins the English firm of Selkrik and Lowe at their office in Saharanpur and cultivates Western values. At the same time, he begins learning Hindi and spinning wheel. At some level, he feels influenced and attached to the Gandhian movement. He faces an internal struggle and feels that he doesn’t completely belong to either the Western culture or the Indian mannerisms. He fails to find enough commonness in himself and other Indians. Then he decides to turn himself towards the Indian roots and switches over to the dhoti-kurta style of dress. His employer, Mr. Trent notices all these activities and warns Sanad but he boldly informs him that nothing is wrong with his activities and that the steps he has been taking are only to familiarize himself with his own country. Sanad is then married to Kusum who belongs to a Nationalist background. Her father was a freedom fighter. Kusum is more clear-headed than Sanad and prefers her Indianness. She is proud of her Indian roots. After marriage, Sanad feels supported by his wife and decides to resign from his job. He is the inheritor of a leading textile mill, he renounces everything by wearing khadi. From the moment he wears kadhi, he decides to follow Gandhi and his principles. His experiences led him to realize the importance of real individual freedom and real powers in serving society and upholding human values and human relationships with courage. This realization on the part of Sanad enables him to dig out his real self and assert his identity as a selfless volunteer of Gandhi. His wife Kusum, and grandmother Ammaji support him in his cause. However, his father Govind Narayan, and his mother Lakshmi oppose him. They are distraught that their elder son, their heir is turning away from the values they prefer.
Sanad’s younger brother Harish is the opposite of Sanad. He prefers Western culture and enjoys foreign visits. He loves luxury and pleasure. Maya, his devoted wife, neither approves of her husband‟s attitude nor rejects it. She calmly allows him to decide. But her love for the country is revealed when she expresses her willingness to join the Rural Development program organized by the Gandhian volunteers.
The novel explores the existence of different ideologies within the same family. The philosophy of Karma is shown as encouraging passivity if man’s present life is seen as the result of his past actions. Maya continues to suffer her husband’s indifference towards her emotional needs and believes she must suffer. However, the novel also explores the other interpretation of Karma and suggests that human beings should take it as a challenge according to their capabilities to shape a better future. The novel suggests that two opposite tendencies create the pattern of Indian life: a forthright sensuality existing side by side with a stark and stoic resignation. Similarly, other opposing tendencies exist side by side: Violence and non-violence, materialism and spiritualism, acquisition and sacrifice, enjoyment and abnegation.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the Indian English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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