Raag Darbari

(novel)

Raag Darbari is a sat irical Hindi novel writ t en by Sri Lal Sukla, published in 1968.[1][2] He was
awarded t he Sahit ya Academy Award, t he highest Indian lit erary award, in 1969 for t his novel.[3]

The novel illust rat es t he failing values present in post -Independence Indian societ y. It exposes
t he helplessness of int ellect uals in t he face of a st rong and corrupt nexus bet ween criminals,
businessmen, police and polit icians.[4][5]

The novel is narrat ed from t he point of view of Ranganat h, a research st udent in hist ory, who
comes t o live wit h his uncle, Vaidyaji, in a village named Shivpalganj in Ut t ar Pradesh for a few
mont hs. He learns how his uncle uses all t he village inst it ut ions—t he village school, t he village
panchayat (a local elect ed body), t he local government offices for his polit ical purpose. The
conduct of his uncle and t he pet t y village polit icians is in st ark cont rast t o t he ideals t hat
Ranganat h has learnt t o aspire t o during his universit y educat ion. The villagers t ake pride in calling
t hemselves "ganjahe", originat ing from "ganj" (which means "place" in Hindi) of Shivpalganj.
Backdrop Raag Darbari

Shrilal Shukla t he aut hor dist inct ly port rays

Author Sri Lal
socio-polit ico-economic condit ions in t he
village life of India by represent ing it coupled
Sukla
wit h sat ire in a st yle of rural fict ion and
remarkable realit y.[6] The t it le Rag Darbari Translator Gillian
does not suggest one of t he Ragas of Indian
classical music, but a song sung by a village Wright
polit ician, charact erized by Vaidyaji in t he
novel, on whose t one all ot her in t he village
dance.[1] The novel port rays gloomy depict ion Country India
of social and polit ical corrupt ion and highly
delicat e dynamics of t he same prevalent
during post colonial India.[6]
Language Hindi

Publisher Penguin
Plot Books Ltd

The village has several charact ers, most

(Translatio
not able of who is Vaidyaji – t he pat riarch of
t he village. He is assist ed by his sons Badri Publication 1968
Pehelwaan (or in English, Badri t he Wrest ler)
and Ruppan Babu. A few more not able
date
charact ers are t he t eachers at t he village
school, and t he principal (whose charact erist ic Media type Print
t rait is t o burst int o Awadhi, his nat ive t ongue,
whenever he is very angry or excit ed).
ISBN 81-267-
The st ory does not have a fixed plot – it is
merely a series of anecdot es. It also does not 0478-0
have a hero or prot agonist . Vaidyaji's nephew,
named Ranganat h, visit s Shivpalganj aft er (First
complet ing his M.A. in Hist ory. His healt h has
been failing, and t he doct ors have advised a edition)
visit t o t he count ryside for him t o gat her his
st rengt h. It is funny how Vaidyaji (which means
OCLC 28387263
"healer") heals t he young boy's mind in more
ways t han one. Aft er his mast ers, Ranganat h,
(https://w
who is a big believer in high ideals and "poet ic
just ice", comes face t o face wit h t he
hypocrisy and t he meanness of t he village
ww.world
gang. The very first incident highlight s his
innocence and blind fait h. In order t o t ravel t o
cat.org/o
his uncle's place, Ranganat h boards a t ruck.
The driver is a rash fellow, who drives
clc/28387
carelessly wit hout regard for t he pedest rians.
Aft er wit nessing him nearly run over a few
263)
cows and sleeping shepherds, t he young man
is finally elat ed when a few police officials pull
t he bus over. From a dist ance, Ranganat h wat ches t hem quest ion t he driver. Alt hough t hey are
t rying t o ext ort money out of t he driver, it appears t o Ranganat h t hat t he driver is being punished
for his foul deeds. There are several such incident s, one aft er t he ot her, t hat shat t er Ranganat h's
high ideals and fait h in just ice. He is a mere spect at or of t he syst em – unable t o make a mark or
st and up for himself.

Characters

Vaidyaji: He is the mastermind behind all

village politics. Very articulate in framing
his sentences and choosing his words,
Vaidyaji is also officially the manager of
the local college.
Ruppan Babu: The younger son of
Vaidyaji and the leader of college
students, Ruppan Babu has remained in
the 10th grade for last 10 years as he
does not want to leave college, in which
his father is the manager. Ruppan is
actively involved in all village politics
and is well respected by the village
community due to his illustrious
parentage. Towards the end of the
novel, a gradual change can be observed
in his behaviour.
Badri Pehelwan: Elder brother of Ruppan
Babu. Badri keeps himself away from his
father's involvements and keeps himself
busy with bodybuilding exercises and
taking care of his protégé.
Ranganath: An M.A. in History,
Ranganath is the nephew of Vaidyaji. He
has come to Shivpalganj on a vacation
for about 5–6 months. It appears that
the author wants to give the view of the
pathetic condition in the villages through
the eyes of an educated person.
Chhote Pehelwan: One of the protégé's
of Badri Pehelwan and devout decipline
of Lord Hanuman, Chhote is an active
participant in village politics and is a
frequent participant in the meetings
summoned by Vaidyaji.
Principal Sahib: As the name denotes,
Principal Sahib is the principal of
Chhangamal Vidyarthi Inter College. His
relationship with other members of the
staff in college forms an important part
of the plot.
Jognath: The local goon, almost always
drunk. He speaks a unique language
known as ''Sarfari'' by inserting an "F"
sound between every 2 syllables.
Sanichar: His real name is Mangaldas
but people call him Sanichar. He is a
 servant to Vaidyaji and was later made
the puppet pradhaan (leader) of village
with the use of political tactics by
Vaidyaji.
Langad: He is a representative of the
hapless common man who has to bend
in front of the corrupt system, even to
get small things done.

Adaptations
Raag Darbari, an Indian t elevision series, adapt ed from t he novel, aired on DD Nat ional from 1986
t o 1987.[7]

Based on Girish Rast ogi's[8] adapt at ion of Raag Darbari, Bahroop Art s Group[9] st aged "Ranganat h
Ki Waapsi", direct ed by Rajesh Singh (alumnus of Nat ional School of Drama) on 18 November
2009, at Alliance Française de New Delhi.[10]

In 2018, t heat re direct or Amit esh Grover (Ust ad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puruskar Awardee) st aged
an original adapt at ion of t he novel, dramat ised by Sarah Mariam, at t he Nat ional School of Drama,
India.[11][12]
References

1. Upendra Nath Sharma (23 September

2012). " 'Raag Darbari': The chronicle of
power and politics retold" (https://web.arch
ive.org/web/20121014112556/http://newi
ndianexpress.com/lifestyle/books/article9
94259.ece) . The New Indian Express.
Archived from the original (http://www.new
indianexpress.com/lifestyle/books/article9
94259.ece) on 14 October 2012. Retrieved
14 October 2014.
2. University of Delhi (2005). Indian Literature:
An Introduction (https://books.google.com/
books?id=mivv3p-msd8C&pg=PA194) .
Pearson Education India. pp. 194–.
ISBN 978-81-317-0520-9.
3. "Sahitya Akademi Awards listings" (http://s
ahitya-akademi.gov.in/sahitya-akademi/aw
ards/akademi_awards.jsp) . Sahitya
Akademi, Official website.
4. "Tribute: Shrilal Shukla's work shocked
India, left it naked" (http://www.rediff.com/
news/special/tribute-shrilal-shuklas-work-h
ad-shocked-india-left-it-naked/20111102.ht
m) . Rediff.com. 3 November 2011.
Retrieved 14 October 2014.
5. Gillian Wright (1 November 2011). "A
Wealth of Experiences" (http://www.outlook
india.com/article/A-Wealth-Of-Experience
s/278818) . Retrieved 14 October 2014.
 6. Shukla, Punit. "Satire on Politics and
Government in Rag Darbari" (https://www.t
hecreativelauncher.com/page.php?id=18) .
Retrieved 17 April 2020.
7. " 'Dilli Doordarshan Ast': Recollections of a
Boy From Assam" (https://thewire.in/medi
a/dilli-doordarshan-ast-recollections-of-a-b
oy-from-assam) . The Wire.
8. Girish Rastogi (http://girishrastogi.com/)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201
30610051202/http://girishrastogi.com/)
10 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine
9. Ranganath Ki Waapsi moves to Alliance (htt
p://bahroop.blogspot.in/2009/11/ranganat
h-ki-waapsi-based-on-novel-raag_12.html)
10. Alliance Française de NEW DELHI (http://de
lhi.afindia.org/)
11. "Vikas Has Missed the Bus" (https://indiane
xpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/vik
as-has-missed-the-bus-5450218/) . The
Indian Express. 18 November 2018.
Retrieved 22 April 2024.
12. adminhakara (23 December 2018).
"Directing Raag Darbari by Amitesh Grover"
(https://www.hakara.in/amitesh-grover/) .
Hakara. Retrieved 22 April 2024.

Roy, Pinaki. Regional Politics and Other

Aspects of Shrilal Shukla's 'Raag Darbari':
A Rereading. Labyrinth, 10.4 (October
2019): 7-18.
External links

Hindi Novel Raag Darbari Excerpt (http

s://www.shabdankan.com/2020/03/hin
di-novel-raag-darbari-excerpt-mela-chal
e.html)

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