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NARRATIVES
185
Mala, it seems, is Esha Mukherjee, Dilip Roy's niece who has been staying at Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry for many years.
Swayamananda represents Sri Aurobindo or rather Sri Aurobindo as saw him. In Roy's conception he is an ideal guru, established upon the highest height of spirituality, beckoning all the comers to reach there where he stands from their special positions on the slopes. He encourages each one, exhorts all those who are tired by steep ascent and tries to cheer up those who despond. This is how, Roy saw Sri Aurobindo. To him his gurudev was perfection. There are no faults in him. One cannot help feeling though that here is not the portrait of a historical being, but a timeless ideal, portrayed by the author. He is the light of the novel and fit guide to the characters who look for the light. The name Swayamananda. is like the names we find in morality play. It means 'bliss itself'. It is intended to describe literally the consciousness of the character. character, then, is not a human being but a personification of an abstraction. Sri Aurobindo's views are expressed as it is seen through Swayamananda's speeches in this novel.
But Sri Aurobindo ashram here is shifted from South to extreme North. The author has also changed certain other details. The description of the evening artis and the direct guidance of gurudev to his disciples like Asit and Raka appears similar to the description of the Ashram of Yashodama and Krishnaprem situated near Almoda, given in Roy's biography: Yogi Sri Krishnaprem.
It is very difficult to hazard a guess about other characters. It might require further research work to know who is who of Roy's fictionalized works.
The third person narrative technique used by the novelist here is the traditional and natural mode of narration. The author remains always present by the side of his work, commenting and explaining. With this method, the novelist can speak of the mental conditions of his characters, too. He, while describing the outward actions of a character, can also speak of his or her inward thoughts. Roy puts forward his views through the character of Asit.
The novel tells a story in a flash-back manner. It is Mala's story told by Asit to Premila and Nirmal. Swayamananda analyses the ideas and attitudes of people around him and effects the necessary change in their attitudes. But at the end, the author does not anticipate what lies ahead. He leaves it to his readers to imagine.
The novel is rich with graphic descriptions. Consider, for example, the following:
"The blue curve of the river scintillated, weaving an ineffable magic... Now and again pretty shikaras brushed past, often, alas, carrying strident pleasure-seekers, utterly out of harmony
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