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 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

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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.

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.

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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.

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.

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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 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

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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 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.

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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 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.

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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

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.

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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 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

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

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

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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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