Socio-cultural Aspects of Life in the Selected Novels of Raja Rao

Book excerpt: Raja Rao Is An Erudite Scholar And An Ennobling Indian Novelist In English. His Sensibility Is Verily Indian And Presents A Unified Vision Of Life.His Creditable Career As A Novelist, Beginning With His First Novel Kanthapura (1938), Spans Over Almost More Than Half A Century. The Novel Is A Repository Of The Eventful Phases Of Indian S Struggle For Independence On Gandhian Lines. The Novel Merits The Distinction Of Being A Paradigmatic Text With The Deft Handling Of Myth And History.The Serpent And The Rope (1960) Renowned For Its Metaphysical Moorings Is A Compendium Of The Indian Composite Cultural Complexities Interacting As They Do With The Cross Cultural And Transactional Influences. The Text Holds Out Infinite Possibilities For The Intending Readers Set Out To Undertake A Serious Study.The Cat And Shakespeare (1965), Comrade Kirillov (1976) Are Intact With The Solidity Of An Inbuilt Structural Irony And Put Up An Amazing Picture, In An Amusing Manner, Of The Piquant Situation Obtaining All Over India In The Post-Independence Period, Soon After The Euphoria Of Independence Struggle Ceased To Exercise Its Influence.The Study Being Selective, Is Confined To Socio-Cultural Aspects Of Life As Reflected In The Above Texts.