Analysis of short story “Udancharkaldi” by Mahendrasinh Parmar with help of Cultural Studies.

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Name: Hariyani Vaidehi C.

Roll no- 19

Year - 2015-17

M.A Semester - 2

Paper no. (8) Cultural Studies

Email Id: - vaidehi09hariyani@gmail.com

Assignment topic:

 Analysis of short story “Udancharkaldi” by Mahendrasinh Parmar with help of Cultural Studies.

Submitted to: Dr. Dilip Barad

Smt.S.B.Gardi

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH,

MAHARAJA KRISHNAKUMARSINHJI  BHAVNAGAR UNIVERSITY,

 BHAVNAGAR, GUJARAT.

Postmodern Literature:-

Postmodern literature is a form of literature which is marked both stylistically and ideologically, by a reliance on such literary conventions as fragmentation, paradox, unreliable narrators, often unrealistic and downright impossible plots, games, parody, paranoia, dark humour and authorial self-reference. Postmodern authors tend to reject outright meanings in their novels, stories and poems, and, instead, highlight and celebrate the possibility of multiple meanings or a complete lack of meaning, within a single literary work.

Many critics and scholars find it best to define postmodern literature against the popular literary style that came before it: modernism. In many ways, postmodern literary styles and ideas serve to dispute, reverse, mock and reject the principles of modernist literature.

Instead of following the standard modernist literary quest for meaning a chaotic world, postmodern literature tends to eschews, often playfully, the very possibility of meaning.

Postmodernism:-

·       Does not follow on “from modernism”

·       Has a different outlook

·       Generally less pessimistic

·       Black humour return to satire

The postmodern literary author makes use of comic elements to highlight the serious issues. Before postmodern writers, the other writers used serious and dark tone to talk about serious issues. A postmodernist author tries to break the basics. The postmodern literature is full of laughter, but the aim of the author is not to create laughter but to think on the serious social issues.

Here I would like to analyse a short story ‘udancharkaldi’ by contemporary Gujarati writer Mahendrasinh Parmar from his book “Polytechnic” ( a collection of short stories).There two more stories in this chain and with the same theme. They are 'Polytechnic' and 'Have kai?'. The importance of a theme is extended in these three stories.

About the Author:-

Mahendrasinh Parmar is born on 2^nd October 1967 in Naliya (Kutch, Gujarat). At present he is a faculty member at Department of Gujarati, Maharaja krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University. Recently, In February 2016 he launched his two books.

1.)            “Polytechnic”

2.)            “Rakhdu no Kagal”

The Plot:-

The plot of the story revolves around the female protagonist ‘Jivi’. Jivi is a girl from rural area. She gets married with Mansukh and moves to his urban house. The new house was very nice with good flooring and the most important facility   was “Toilet”. She cleans the toilet with finial and keeps it so clean.  In village, Jivi and her friends had lots of problems as they didn’t have facilities of toilet.

Jivi loves her new house so much that when her mother and brother invite her for her brother’s wedding. At first she denies going with them and promises to come soon. Jivi was so attached with the new house and specially the facilities, which it was hard for her now to live without this facility. Mansukh also explains Jivi that they should go for her brother’s wedding. The end of the story is open for interpretation that whether Jivi visits her mother’s home or not.

After reading this plot, a question may arise that Can the story be so funny?

Laughter is used as a device. It is used as the expression of thoughts that society usually suppressed or forbade. It shows selfishness and unfeeling cruelty of the subconscious. Paradoxical situation and reactions of the characters and readers makes us think. With laughter the story frustrates the readers.

 Many of you also must be laughing. By laughing at Jivi, we are laughing at our own self or in a wider sense the whole society.

This is where the postmodernist literature differs from others. It represents social issues in a comic manner.

Many times it is been observed that, people never listens or accepts the reality if shown or represented directly.For example we all know that our ex-ray image is the real inner self image of ours. Do we keep that image as our profile picture or at our home? No we won't.We will like to keep our picture where we are painted with make-up. Similarly, people never accept reality directly.

 So, the postmodernist author represents the reality in a comic way.

The people who can understand the deeper meaning of this comedy can grasps the main aim of the story and others just go on laughing.

In this story, the author has used a very interesting metaphor “Raamsabha” for the nature’s call in nature. Jivi and her friends use this metaphor to talk about the nature’s call in nature. It generates laughter among the readers. This metaphor is used several times in the story.

Example:-

This dialogue is spoken by ‘Savli’; Jivi’s best friend. When Jivi’s Bidaai is taking place, Savli tells her that she is very fortunate to have the facility of sanitation, but she has the same “Raamsabha”.

It shows how the girls suffer due to lack of facility of sanitization. The girls can get it only if they get married. The question is why????

Here we can see how an old lady sings song of “Raamsabha”. It reflects the problems she might have suffered and must be seeing the younger girls suffer.

Here we can see a glimpse of a conversation between Jivi and her husband. Jivi tells her husband about “Raamsabha”. Here is a very interesting line which reflects the salient feature of postmodernist literature.

“Bai ne hasta hasta, rovai gayu”

This is what we as a reader should understand the hidden meaning behind the comic elements. Both Jivi and her husband cried on the situations faced by Jivi.

A woman faces this serious problem of poor or no sanitation facilities. It not only creates problem about hygiene of women but also security of women. In August 2014, two girls in Uttar Pradesh were raped during their visit to farm for relieving themselves. Many women in India are still facing the problems. Nowadays we also see the advertisement of the Government program for the use of toilets with a tagline.

“Jaha soch waha sauchalay”

Note:- Our government has now started the campaign, but this was written many years back.

Rather than portraying Jivi in a tragic way, the author gives her a 

touch of comedy mixed with innocence. We might wonder that can there be anyone who doesn’t want to go at her mother’s place. We should imagine the condition of Jivi and the problem girls like her faces. Jivi reflects every girl who is the victim of these kinds of social issues. With the use of pure local Gujarati language, use of metaphors and the comic elements makes the story worth reading.

Many times people are also ashamed of talking about toilet facility or maybe they think these are not important things to be discussed or talked. Postmodernist literature makes use of comedy, satire and irony to highlight the dark side of the society.

 As you must have laughed a lot….Now think about this and many other serious issues going around.


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