Purity and Pollution, The Dynamics of Social System in U. R. Anantha Murthy\'s Samaskara

Harcharan Singh Arora Harcharan Singh Arora
2018 International Journal of English and Literature  
This paper will take you to have a closer look at Anantha Murthy's rage at the oppressive traditions, convictions rituals and inhuman attitude of the Brahmin community of the sixties represented by the orthodox Brahmins of a lively village in Karnataka. The whole novel is a conflict andtussle between good and evil, between Praneshacharya's own penance and Naranappa's demonic ways. Insurgent Naranappa's death brings in its wake a plague, moral chaos and various questions without answers. His
more » ... h leaves behind the complicated problem of whether a heretic could receive the death rites due to a Brahmin. In trying to work out the dilemma of whom, if any, should perform Naranappa's deathrite, Praneshacharya -the Guru of the Agrahara begins a samaskara-a transformation for himself. By the end of the novel, he deduces that nobody can get out of the hold of one's own community easily and Acharya decides to fulfill his commitment and obligation to the community he belongs to.
doi:10.24247/ijelapr20186 fatcat:mxq3243xbnbelmgahwbzr4cceq