Dialogic and Novel a Study of Shashi Tha

8/18/2019 Dialogic and Novel a Study of Shashi Tha

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285International Journal of English and

Education

Copyright © International Journal of English |

Dialogic and Novel: A tudy of hashi !haroor"s Riot

A#stract

Dr. Taj

Mohammad 1

Asst. Professor, Department of English, Nejran University, !A

oada Idris$han

%

"esearch scholar, Department of English, Aligarh #uslimUniversity, Aligarh

!hashi $haroor%s Riot e&emplifies dialogism 'hich is (ased on )a*htin%s

concept of polyphony. )a*htin (elieves that novel is not monologic rather it ispolyphonic. )a*htin (elieves that novel as a form is dialogical or heteroglot.

$he polyphonic novel provides enough ground to ta*e di+erent perspectives

into account other than the perspectives of the novelist.

$he novel has rich elements of heteroglossia too. $his heteroglossia presents

the form in 'hich di+erent dialogues are presented. )a*htin names it the social

diversity of speech types that he discovered in the novel. $he nature of the

form of the Riot is dialogic 'hich allo's other voices to participate in the novel.

$he heteroglossia helps achieve multiple realities rather than one definitive

unchanging meaning imported (y the novelist.

$he heteroglossia in the novel is clear 'hen there are di+erent points of vie'

presented (y di+erent social classes regarding the history of India. $hese

di+erent speeches represented (y di+erent social classes often clash 'ith each

other. It is difficult to appreciate the novel 'ithout ta*ing into account the

historical perspective. istory is treated as fiction. $haroor seems to have a

'onderful understanding of history of India as 'ell as the present political

system.

)a*htin (elieves that all thoughts are a matter of -dialogue% and -difference%

dialogue re/uires the pre0e&istence of differences, 'hich are then connected

(y an act of communication to generate ne' ideas and positions. In Riot too the

dialogues (et'een "am 1haran and "andy Diggs help to ascertain the pre0

e&isting di+erences and through their communication ne' ideas are generated

a(out it.

Key Words: polyphonic, heteroglossia, dialogism,monologic, metafiction

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286International Journal of English and

Education

Copyright © International Journal of English g

!hashi$haroor%s Riot is a 'onderful e&ample of dialogism that is (ased on

)a*htin%s concept of polyphony. As )a*htin (elieves that novel is not monologic

rather polyphonic, $haroor%sRiot

advocates this concept of )a*htin verystrongly. Riot has di+erent voices and points of vie' other than that of the

narrator.

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)a*htin (elieves that novel as a form is dialogical or heteroglot. e (orro'ed

the concept of polyphony from music and e&panded it for literary theory and

criticism. In music, polyphony stands for a piece that has more than one

voice, melody or theme. $hese di+erent components, li*e melody, voice and

theme, have an e/ual importance though di+erent from each other in nature.

2i*e music, the novel too has different voices 'hich are e/ually important and

cannot merge 'ith each other. $he a(sence of any of them may distort the

form and charm of the novel.

$he polyphonic novel provides enough ground to ta*e di+erent perspectives

into account other than the perspectives of the novelist. $he origin of

polyphony is in Problems of Dostoevsky’ Poetics, the te&t 'here )a*htin dre' adistinction (et'een -monologic% and -polyphonic%.

Riot can also (e seen as a historiographic met fiction or post0modernist

fiction as there are many interte&tual references and allusions in the novel.

Nanda umar in an article titled 3#ultiplicity of 4oices in the novels of

!hashi $haroor5 comments 3In short, 'ith its interte&tual references and

allusions, 'ith its sophisticated a'areness of its o'n refle&ivity, Riot is /uite

in tune 'ith much of the metafictional 'ritings of today5 6umar, 7889:.

Another critic, Paras Dhir, says 3Nonetheless, ta*ing history as its (ase,

$haroor revisits the past 'ith o(jectivity and irony, and transforms it intohistoriographicmetafiction 'hich pro(lemati;es history (y presenting historical

incidents and characters


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ta*ing into account the historical perspective. istory is treated as fiction.

$haroor seems to have a 'onderful understanding of history of India as 'ell as

the present political system. $he same vie's are also put for'ard in a (oo*

revie' posted (y !anjeevotnala “There is a deep understanding of the

historic and relevant contemporary facts and incidents” 6otnala, %&((:.

ParasDhir also shares this vie' “…Hence the historical events as well as

the fictional happenings depicted in the novel offers multiplicity of

perspectives and provide different versions of historical as well as the fictional

truth” 6Dhir, p! cit!:.

=ne of the voices in the novel that of "udyard%s comments (riefly on the history

of 1oca 1ola in India and >E"A, the >oreign E&change "egulation Act, ?@9."udyard is the father of Priscilla. e 'as sent on a (usiness mission to India at

the same time (y 1oca 1ola. e also tells a(out the political ups and do'ns of

the time and ho' it led to emergency imposed (y Indira Bandhi. $hough he

tells all this from the (usiness point of vie', his narration records some of the

very crucial moments from the history of India. !hashi$haroor /uotes the

follo'ing as the 'ords of Beorge >ernande; during a parliamentary session

“"hat kind of country is #ndia$ where you can get coke in the cities but no

clean drinking water in the villages%” 6$haroor, 788??:

)a*htin (elieves that all thoughts are a matter of -dialogue% and -difference%dialogue re/uires the pre0e&istence of differences, 'hich are then connected

(y an act of communication to generate ne' ideas and positions. In Riot too the

dialogues (et'een "am 1haran and "andy Diggs help to ascertain the pre0

e&isting di+erences and through their communication ne' ideas are generated

a(out it as "am 1haran thin*s that even the ashi4ish'anath temple 'as

destroyed (y the #uslims and the Byan4yapi mos/ue 'as replaced in its place

(y them.

$he plurality of India%s cultures is an important aspect of the novel that adds

meaning to the polyphonic nature of the novel. $he dialogues among the

di+erent voices on the culture of India present a *ind of analogy that one can

adopt to understand the pluralistic Indian society. As a polyphonic novel

re/uires the participation of all the cultural voices, $haroor has very

successfully presented a contrast (et'een the culture of the East and the Cest,

a contrast (et'een the =rient and the =ccident.

$he eastern culture is represented (y 2a*shman 'ho stands for India%s cultural

values .$he 'est is represented (y Priscilla 'ho came to India 'ith her o'n

cultural values. Amrendra !harma and #anju "oy have also put for'ardthe same vie's 3>urther, the relationship (et'een Indian civil servant and

the American researcher leads to the perennial conflicts (et'een the =riental

values and the Cestern perception of truth5 6!harma and "oy,%&(&:&%:.

$he same vie's are presented (y Nanda umar in an article 3#ultiplicity of

4oices in the novels of !hashi$haroor5


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…The conflict between &akshman and Priscilla is the conflict

between the 'ictorian ideals of duty$ responsibility and

respectability$ and the Romantic credo of freedom$ love and

individual fulfillment! r to put it in another way$ it is the conflict

between the (ast and the "est! 6umar, p! cit!:

India is a victim of cultural collisions. Many Hindus and Muslims sacrifice their lives to protect

their socio-cultural and religious identities. The novel raises many questions lie !hat are !e

living for" #hat is our truth" #hat does religion mean to us" $oes any religion permit the

massacre of the innocent people" Is a temple or mosque more important than a thousand lives"

$haroor himself spea*s of three voices operating e&plicitly in this novel in anintervie' given to

Joanne J.#yers

… The story of the riot itself is told through three voices: the Hindu chauvinist

leader of the town, who speaks with passion about his convictions about the

wrong that he is trying to right; the district administrator of the town, who talks

about trying to control what happened; and the superintendent of police, who had

the responsibility for managing the breakdown in law and order. %Myers& 2''()

et the 'riter has left many issues for the readers 'hich can only (e guessed.

>or e&ample the mystery of the murder of Priscilla is not resolved (y any of the

polyphonic voices until the end of the novel.

$he 'ords of Priscilla sho' ho' language and utterance are interlin*ed 'ith

each other and cannot (e separated from each other. 2anguage carries an

ideology 'ithin itself. $he 'ords have socially charged meanings that have

their conte&tual meaning in the society. )a*htin (elieves that ideology is

semiotic in form and ideas do not e&ist apart from the medium of language. $he

form ta*en (y and the ideology of the literary 'or* are insepara(le. >orm isideological at the same time that ideology must ta*e some form. $hat is 'hat

)a*htin calls 3sociological stylistics5. $he heteroglossia of the novel is revealed

(y Priscilla%s comment on the role of the Indian 'omen in the society. Priscilla

has (rought her o'n ideology that is related to the social and intellectual class

in 'hich she is (orn and raised.

$he dialogues of different characters thro' light on the heteroglot nature of

the novel that rises from the very use of their language made of different

syntactical items 'rapped in its socio0cultural conte&ts and ideology.

In the polyphonic novel, different modes of narrative such as realism,

naturalism, fantasy and postmodernism play a vital role. Riot also o+ers an

amalgam of these di+erent genres.


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2a*shman fantasi;es his love 'ith Priscilla 'hile his responsi(ilities to'ards his

family are the part of realism. $he t'o voices of realism and fantasy are very

apt in the novel.

$his variety of dialogism 'hich is (orne out of the variety of the usage of

language adds to the heteroglossia of the novel. Di+erent characters of the

novel perceive the 'orld from their o'n perspectives 'hich are o(viously

contradictory to each other. $here are di+erences in the perception of the

people.

"am 1haran comes 'ith his o'n religious (ac*ground. e finds himself to (e

perfect according to the ideologies he is governed 'ith. e finds nothing 'rongin ta*ing out a procession to (uild a temple or to massacre the #uslims.

2a*shman (rings his o'n set of values 'hich are not charged (y the orthodo&

religious identity and instincts (ut (y his o'n secular outloo*, up(ringing and

education. It does not allo' his conscience to meddle up 'ith the religious

orthodo&.

Priscilla comes 'ith her o'n social and cultural (ac*ground. !he feels

uncomforta(le 'ith an unfamiliar culture and people. !ar'ar, despite (eing a

communist, has sympathy for his religion and has his o'n set of ideology.

Burinder also (rings certain set of ideas 'hich are governed (y his pastparticularly the death of his nephe' and (rother0in0la' during the anti0si*h riot.

atherine and "udyard see the life from their o'n perspective. Riot represents

these di+erent voices in the form of dialogues 'hich often clash 'ith each

other and impart di+erent insights and meaning to the novel.

$hroughout the novel, the narrative voice moves (et'een t'o types of

discourse 0 literary discourse and oral discourse. In it the narrative voice

points to'ards an o(jective style of speech 0 relating the action as something

happen to someone else, to the characters, society or an institution. $he

readers can detect a separation (et'een the situation of the voice telling the

tale and the situation voices 'ithin the tale.

$he narrator also (ecomes one of the voices coming from the tale. At times, the

oral voice 'ill emerge from 'ithin a literary passage, as it does in the se/uence

predicting the cause of the murder of Priscilla. $he narrative se/uence raises

many /uestions in the mind of the reader that sometimes leads him to an

imaginative conclusion 'hile other times he rejects his o'n presumptions as

the narrative se/uence presents another point of vie' that ma*es the reader

feel the other 'ay round.


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Dialogic and Novel a Study of Shashi Tha

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