ISSN(O): 2320-5407 Int. J. Adv. Res.

13(06), June-2025, 1482-1485

Journal Homepage: - www.journalijar.com

Article DOI: 10.21474/IJAR01/21211

DOI URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/21211

RESEARCH ARTICLE

FICTION FROM BELOW: SUBVERSIVE HISTORIES IN VIKRAM CHANDRA’S RED

EARTH AND POURING RAIN AND P. SACHIDANANDAN’S GOVARDHAN’S
TRAVELS
Prathyaksh Janardhanan
1. Assistant Professor Faculty of Business Administration GLS University.
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Manuscript Info Abstract
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Manuscript History This paper attempts to understand marginality and its implications on
Received: 16 April 2025 the construction of the gendered subject within postcolonial texts. The
Final Accepted: 19 May 2025 paper tries to probe whether the representation of the gendered subject
Published: June 2025 within postcolonial texts offers them the agency of speech, which
would enable it resist the implicit undercurrents of patriarchy in the
Key words:-
Margins, Gendered Subject, Postcolonial texts.The paper through the textual analysis of two postcolonial texts
Texts :Vikram Chandra‟s Red Earth and Pouring Rain (1995) and P
Sachidanandan ( Anand) ‟s Govardhan‟s Travels ( originally written as
Govardhante Yatrakal in 1995 and translated as Govardhan‟s Travels in
2006)focuses on how the texts through the portrayal of two marginal
characters: Begum Sumroo and Umrao Jan respectively voice the issues
faced by the gendered subject. The paper argues that it is the
marginalized position of the characters (both through gender and
society), which enable them to voice and analyze their marginalized
position in the dominant patriarchal society, that they live in.

"© 2025 by the Author(s). Published by IJAR under CC BY 4.0. Unrestricted use allowed
with credit to the author."
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Introduction:-
In her seminal essay “Can the Subaltern speak” (1988) Gayatri Spivak (1942) argues that the western notions of
subjectivity as argued by Michel Foucault for example have conveniently overlooked the violence that was present
in immediate social contexts of these critics. Further she argues that it is this “sanctioned ignorance” which
implicitly prioritizes the inequalities and oppressions and in the process silences subaltern voices and creates
margins in the society. The process of marginalization becomes all the more acute for the gendered subject who is
silenced by the patriarchal society. In the essay, Spivak through the example of Bhuvaneshwari Bhaduri‟s suicide,
argues that the misrepresentation of the subaltern woman is aided through the complex construction of the legally
displaced female subject within Hindu religious codes and the British constitution of the widow as a passive victim
of patriarchal violence both of which each ignore the social and political agency of the subaltern woman (Spivak,
307).

Between patriarchy and imperialism, subject-constitution and object-formation, the figure of the woman disappears,
not into a pristine nothingness, but a violent shuttling which is the displaced figuration of the „third-world woman‟
caught between tradition and modernization (Spivak, 306)

Corresponding Author:- Prathyaksh Janardhanan 1482

Address:- Assistant Professor Faculty of Business Administration GLS University.
ISSN(O): 2320-5407 Int. J. Adv. Res. 13(06), June-2025, 1482-1485

Through the analysis of Vikram Chandra‟s first novel Red Earth and Pouring Rain ( 1995) and P Sachidanandan(
Anand)‟s Govardhan‟s Travels( published in Malayalam in 1995 and translated in 2006), this paper argues that
while the narrative utilize myths and historical characters to question narratives which subdue voices from the
margins, the voicing of the marginal „gendered‟ subject has been voiced through the presence of two marginal
characters themselves, who utilize their position to represent their presence within the texts .In Women Writing in
India (1991) Susie Tharu and K Lalitha argue :

Women articulate and respond to ideologies from complexly constituted and decenrtered positions within them.
Familial ideologies, for instance, clearly constitute male and female subjectivities in different ways, as do ideologies
of nation or of empire .Further, ideologies are not experienced – or contested-in the same way from different subject
positions....we might indeed learn to read them not for the moments in which they collude with or reinforce
dominant ideologies of gender,class,nation or empire, but for the gestures of defiance and subversion implicit in
them.(Lalitha and Tharu, 35)

This paper attempts to show how the characters Begum Sumroo and Umrao Jan of Red Earth and Pouring Rain and
Govardhan‟s Travels respectively, respond to the dominant patriarchal discourses from within the decentered
positions in the text.

To begin with Vikram Chandra (1961-)‟s first novel Red Earth and Pouring Rain ( 1995) utilizes mythical characters
such as Ganesh,Yama to weave a narrative which travels through the pre-colonial to the postmodern era. The novel
begins when Abhay, in a fit of rage fatally wounds a monkey, which had stolen his pants. The near death experience
restores the memory of the monkey who recounts his former life to the twentieth century audience as Sanjay, the
nineteenth century poet and renegade warrior. Sanjay‟s narrative becomes a recreation of the past which transcends
time and space. The talking monkey, Sanjay‟s narrative becomes a recreation of the past, which can be seen as an
alternate narrative to the dominant historical narratives. The novel, experiments with the temporal-spatial
dimensions and utilizes analeptic and proleptic narratives strategies to move back and forth in time.

At the outset, the narrative predominantly focuses on the exploits of men: Sanjay and Sikander from the past and
Abhay in the present. Even the gods that are a part of the narrative are men. However, the novel attempts to weave
different perspectives of the characters within the novel. The character of Begum Sumroo has to be seen in the light
of the arguments made. In Red Earth and Pouring Rain, in the „Book of War and Ancestors‟,Begum Sumroo is
described as :
A witch,‟Uday said.‟zeb-ul-nissa,witch of sardhana.Daughter of a dancing woman. Married a general named
Vassoult, who died. Now she rules his estate with spells and terrors and a hand of steel. (Chandra, 86-87)

While, the novel attempts to codify her as a witch and a seductress, the narrative describes her as a strong willed
woman who defies the codes that patriarchy attempts to impose on her. This is seen when she refuses to marry
Thomas, with whom she had a sexual relationship. When he warns her that her widowhood might attract unwanted
attention, she agrees for the sake of political gains.
Perhaps you‟re right; it might hold them off, and why ask for trouble? Who shall it be? A firangi, for survival sake,
because I know the thing that moves at our doors, I alone. … Who else? You‟ll do for a lover, but if I must have a
foreign king, let it be him. (Chandra, 130)

Further, in the chapter titled “Sikander learns the art of war”, the narrative describes Begum Sumroo through the
description of Sanjay, when they meet her for the first time. Sanjay describes his encounter with Begum Sumroo as:
The Begum although elegant, was not a woman for coddling guests, young ones in particular; Inspite of her love for
travelling incognito, her taste for intrigue, her reputation for poison-use and seductions that followed her around the
country( the wicked Begum Sumroo), she was obviously a woman who knew what she was; it was her
comfortableness that impressed Sanjay, her certainty that whatever she did was right.(Chandra , 459)

Both the quotations mentioned above, enunciate how the gendered subject utilizes her marginal position to represent
her identity within the larger narrative of the novel. It is worthy to note that the quote mentioned above and the one
that described her as a witch, are streamlined through the male gaze, whose vision codify her as a gendered subject:
strong yet gentle. However, her agency as the gendered subject is seen when she asserts her will to marry for
political leverage. This is also seen in the chapter titled “Sikander learns the art of war”, when she asks Sanjay to
burn the Englishman‟s books as a ritual (517) ,which would grant him power to fight the imperial army. Her advice

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to destroy the books, metaphorically hinted at the role that print capitalism played in the struggle for independence.
Her cryptic message coded within a magic ritual, (which within the context of the novel allows Sanjay to win)
allows her the agency to be a part of the male dominated struggle for independence.

In P.Sachidanandan( Anand)(1936)‟ s Govardhan‟s Travels ( published in Malayalam in 1995 and translated in

2006) the dramatist Bharatendu Harishchandra releases Govardhan, a character fated to die in his play
AndheriNagerikaChaupat Raja from the confines of the text, to save him from repetitive death. The novel pivots the
ill-fated journey of Govardhan through the politicalscape of Darashouk, Aurangzeb and other nineteenth century
figures to eventually raises questions on whether the fate of Govardhan within the confines of the play was better
than what he faced outside it .Govardhan‟s Travels as argued above offers a scathing criticism of the helplessness of
the citizen whose fate is inextricably bound to the larger socio-judicial systems. The novel also argues that
Govardhan utilizes his new found freedom to journey as a fugitive through the war torn landscape and raise
questions about freedom, injustice and victimization and receive no answers in return. In other words, the novel is
not just about Govardhan, it depicts the life of an entire section of the society, which has been marginalized and
victimized by the dominant section of the society and the state machinery. The novel seems to argue how the
marginality of the gender subject, induced through their societal position is actually their strength in disguise, which
allows them to question the injustice meted on women by the patriarchy. This is seen in the brief conversation
between Ramchander and a prostitute in Chapter 65 of the novel.

She gave Ramchander food to eat. While he devoured it hungrily, she said:
Do you know why my path always lies open? No one ever stones a prostitute to death. Nor is she ever burned on a
pyre with a man, or locked up in a harem. A prostitute is beyond all laws.( Anand, 236)

In other words, it is the stigma of being a courtesan, which allows her and women like her to question the unjust
rituals that patriarchy has created to subdue women and the violence meted on women. It is in this context that the
character of Umrao Jan must be foregrounded. Umrao Jan has been portrayed as the marginalized gendered subject,
who is aware of her societal position and her identity as a woman. When Begum Sumroo has been described as a
woman, who knew who she was, Umrao Jan furthers this by refusing to be a part of the narratives of men. This is
seen in chapter 23 of the novel, when she corrects a couplet composed by Ruswa (who is depicted as her
biographer).Anand states:

„I went to Kabba on a piligrimage, but in vain My sinful feet found the path of human love again‟ „I certainly did,‟
said Ruswa, „ but you changed it to: I turned my back on Kabba with great disdain Gave up my faith, took the path
of human love again (Anand, 91)

The original and corrected couplet, reaffirms Umrao Jan‟s conviction in her identity. The couplet composed by
Ruswa (the male agency), implicitly codes Umrao as a fallen woman, who lacks the purity to receive the grace of
god, which forces her to return to her ways. This can be seen in the use of the word “sinful feet”. However, Umrao‟s
corrected version shows the affirmation of her agency, which does not stereotype her as a courtesan. The words
“turned my back with great disdain” and “gave up my faith” validates her subject position, where she asserts her
agency and foregrounds her individuality. This is also seen when she frees Ruswa from her services by informing
that she does not need redemption through literature and is content with her life (Anand, 91)

The relegation of the gendered subject beyond the blinds of chastity and purity allows them the freedom and agency
to voice their resistance and questions injustice meted by the imperialist and patriarchal systems. This is seen when
Umrao Jan reverses the stigma of her having earned a bad name, by asserting that it is her fortune and she accepts it
unconditionally (Anand,93). Further, the novel portrays Umrao Jan as a thinking subject who accepts her subject
position and utilizes it to voice herself from within the patriarchal systems. Her conversation with Govardhan (the
central and titular character of the novel) in chapter 60 reaffirms the argument made above. Her conversation with
Govardhan attempts to problematize the issues of justice and retribution.

When Govardhan mentions his predicament, Umrao Jan too details her journey, of how she was abducted and sold
in the market as a courtesan. The description of her journey, which was no less perilous than Govradhan‟s also
foregrounds issues of justice and freedom from the position of the gendered subject. This is also exemplified by her
forgiving her abductor named Dilawar Khan (217) and the meeting with Tyagaraja in Chapter 96. Anand argues:

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„Have you come to learn music? This woman too has been earning a living with music, though in a different way,‟
she said with great humility. „If it will not offend the swami to hear it, this woman too sang about love. Not love for
god, but love for men.You do not know swami, I am a fallen woman, a prostitute. Umrao‟s voice trembled. But her
eyes stared boldly at Tyagaraja. (Anand, 359)

Umrao Jan‟s conversations with Govardhan and Tyagaraja foreground her agency as the „speaking‟ gendered
subject. Both the conversations resist the undercurrents of patriarchy which are inherent in the narrative of the novel.
Through the conversation with Govardhan, Umrao Jan posits an alternative narrative of suffering and victimization
from the perspective of the gendered subject. Conversely, through her discussion on music with Tyagaraja, who
focuses on worshipping god as the only use of music , Umrao Jan shows that the songs of love, which she sung of
had the same aesthetic feel and was also considered as music. In other words, the discussion on music and love
attempts juxtaposing of two contestable discourses, one which belonged to a pristine tradtion of bhakti and the other
which bordered on love for men.

To conclude, this paper began by detailing Gayatri Spivak‟s views on „margins‟ .In her essay titled “ Explanation
and Culture: Marginalia” published in In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics (1988) she defines marginality as
“a suspicion that what is at the centre often hides a repression” ( Spivak,105). Begum Sumroo of Vikram Chandra‟s
Red Earth and Pouring Rain and Umrao Jan of Anand‟s Govardhan‟s Travels are depicted as characters who were
caught in the double blind of marginality due to their gender and societal status. The implicit patriarchal discourses
code these gendered subjects as objects of desire and simultaneously ostracize them due to their non normative
position in the society. In other words, both the characters are part of the margins, due to their non- conformity to
the codes of chastity as defined by the patriarchal society. This characteristic, however, has been imposed on them.
Their awareness of their current marginal position, which emerges from a repression, forms the basis for resistance,
which is conspicuous in their narratives. In other words, the analysis of the characters in these novels and the
representation of their voices questions and criticizes the repression, which is implicit in their marginal positions.

References:-
1. Chandra. Vikram Red Earth And Pouring Rain U.S.A : Back Bay Books1998.Print
2. Sachidanandan,P. GovardhansTravels.Trans,GitaKrishnankutty. New Delhi: Penquin 2006.Print
3. Gayatri Spivak, In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics New York:Routledge, 1988.Print
4. Tharu, Susie, and K. Lalita,(eds) eds. Women Writing in India 600 B.C. to the Present, 2 vols. New Delhi: OUP,
1991.Print.

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