Discuss Raja Rao’s art of characterisation in Kanthapura .
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Discuss Raja Rao’s art of characterisation in Kanthapura.- Raja Rao, one of the most celebrated Indo-Anglian novelists, occupies a significant place in Indian English literature for his unique blend of Indian themes and English expression. His novel Kanthapura (1938) is a landmark in Indian fiction because it vividly portrays the impact of the Gandhian freedom movement on a traditional South Indian village. While the novel is often praised for its narrative technique, mythic style, and use of Indian idiom, an equally important feature of Raja Rao’s craftsmanship is his art of characterisation. Through a variety of memorable and realistically drawn characters, Raja Rao presents a microcosm of Indian society, capturing its traditions, conflicts, and transformation under the influence of nationalism.
This essay examines how Raja Rao creates, develops, and integrates his characters into the larger thematic framework of Kanthapura, showing how each character contributes to the moral, spiritual, and political growth of the village community.
1. Characterisation as the Soul of the Novel
In Kanthapura, characterisation serves a dual purpose. On the one hand, Raja Rao portrays living, breathing individuals who represent different aspects of Indian rural life; on the other, he uses them symbolically to express the collective awakening of India during the freedom struggle. His characters are both realistic and archetypal — they reflect not only personal traits but also cultural and moral values.
Unlike Western novels that focus on individual psychology, Raja Rao’s approach to characterisation is collective and organic. His characters are inseparable from their community. Their joys, sufferings, and transformations are all part of the larger destiny of the village. Thus, the novel does not revolve around one protagonist alone; rather, it is about the spiritual evolution of an entire people.
2. The Narrative Voice and Its Role in Characterisation
A distinctive feature of Raja Rao’s art is his choice of narrator — Achakka, an old Brahmin widow from the village. Through her oral storytelling, the reader experiences the events as part of local memory and tradition. Achakka’s voice is affectionate, biased, and deeply rooted in rural culture.
Because the story is told from her point of view, the characters are presented in the way villagers would perceive them — through gossip, admiration, fear, or reverence. This oral style lends the characters a unique authenticity. They are not psychologically dissected but revealed through speech, behaviour, and communal opinion. Achakka’s storytelling also adds a mythic dimension: she often compares the villagers to figures from the Ramayana or Mahabharata, elevating ordinary people into heroes of a spiritual battle.
3. Moorthy: The Spiritual Hero
Discuss Raja Rao’s art of characterisation in Kanthapura.- The central figure of Kanthapura is Moorthy, the young Brahmin who becomes the Gandhian leader of the village. Raja Rao’s portrayal of Moorthy is both realistic and symbolic. On one level, Moorthy is a simple, idealistic youth inspired by Gandhi’s teachings of truth, non-violence, and self-purification. On another level, he represents the awakening soul of India — pure, idealistic, and committed to spiritual regeneration.
Raja Rao builds Moorthy’s character gradually. In the beginning, he is a devout Brahmin concerned mainly with ritual purity. However, after meeting Rangamma and reading Gandhi’s words, his outlook broadens. He gives up caste prejudices, visits the Pariah quarters, and tries to unite the villagers in the national cause. His moral courage is shown when he faces excommunication from his own community for mingling with the untouchables.
Through Moorthy, Raja Rao shows the conflict between tradition and reform, spirituality and politics, individual and society. His non-violent resistance against colonial oppression mirrors Gandhi’s philosophy, while his inner suffering and steadfast faith elevate him to a saint-like figure. By the end of the novel, Moorthy becomes less of an individual and more of a symbol — a spiritual leader whose personal sacrifice inspires collective action.
4. Achakka: The Voice of the People
Achakka, the narrator, is not merely a storyteller but an essential character. Her simple faith, traditional outlook, and motherly affection represent the moral conscience of the village. Raja Rao uses her to show the transformation of an ordinary, conservative woman into a witness of national awakening.
Although she does not fully understand the political and ideological meanings of Gandhi’s movement, she deeply feels its spiritual essence. Her descriptions of Moorthy’s sacrifices, the sufferings of the villagers, and the brutalities of the police are filled with emotional intensity. Achakka thus personifies the Indian mother figure — compassionate, enduring, and deeply rooted in faith.
Through her eyes, the reader perceives how Gandhi’s ideals penetrate the hearts of common people. Raja Rao’s choice of such a narrator demonstrates his mastery in characterisation: he makes the most ordinary voice speak for an entire civilization.
5. Rangamma: The Intellectual and Feminine Strength
Discuss Raja Rao’s art of characterisation in Kanthapura.- Among the female characters, Rangamma stands out as the most educated and intellectually awakened woman. She becomes Moorthy’s spiritual ally and the leader of the women’s front in Kanthapura. Her house becomes the meeting place for political discussions and for reading Gandhi’s works.
Raja Rao portrays Rangamma as a bridge between traditional womanhood and modern consciousness. She is dignified, wise, and courageous. Her speeches to the women about Gandhi and the freedom struggle show how Indian women, traditionally confined to domestic roles, became active participants in the national movement. Rangamma’s leadership of the Sevika Sangha (women volunteers) illustrates the growing empowerment of women in colonial India.
Her character also emphasizes that the Gandhian movement was not merely political but moral and spiritual, uniting men and women in a common cause.
6. Other Female Characters: Symbol of Social Change
Raja Rao’s portrayal of women in Kanthapura is one of his greatest artistic achievements. Women form the emotional and spiritual backbone of the novel. They are not passive spectators but active participants in the struggle. Characters like Ratna, Narsamma, Bhattamma, and Waterfall Venkamma represent different shades of Indian womanhood.
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Ratna, the young widow, is fiery and outspoken. Her rebellious spirit breaks traditional taboos of widowhood and symbolizes the liberation of Indian women.
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Waterfall Venkamma, on the other hand, is jealous, conservative, and suspicious of Moorthy. She represents the old forces of ignorance and social division.
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Narsamma, Moorthy’s mother, embodies the tragic conflict between maternal love and social duty. Her death after Moorthy’s excommunication adds emotional depth to the story and reveals the cruelty of rigid caste orthodoxy.
Through these women, Raja Rao reflects the entire range of emotional and social realities in rural India — from devotion and sacrifice to superstition and prejudice. His women are drawn with warmth, sympathy, and psychological insight.
7. The Village as a Collective Character
Discuss Raja Rao’s art of characterisation in Kanthapura.- One of Raja Rao’s most original achievements is the creation of Kanthapura itself as a character. The village is not just a backdrop but a living organism with its own rhythm, emotions, and destiny. Through collective voices, songs, and rituals, the village speaks and acts as a single moral community.
When Gandhi’s message reaches Kanthapura, the entire village becomes a battlefield between faith and fear, tradition and change. The villagers’ collective enthusiasm, their processions, imprisonments, and endurance of police brutality transform the village into a symbol of India’s awakening.
This technique of treating the community as a character gives Kanthapura a mythic resonance, turning the freedom struggle into a spiritual epic. It also reveals Raja Rao’s profound understanding of Indian psychology, where the individual’s identity is deeply interwoven with the collective.
8. The Colonial and Orthodox Antagonists
Raja Rao’s art of characterisation is equally evident in his portrayal of antagonists. The British colonial officers, such as the police inspector and the revenue officials, are not deeply individualized but serve as symbols of oppression and injustice. Their cruelty during the arrests and beatings represents the dehumanizing nature of imperial rule.
On the Indian side, the orthodox Brahmins, such as the Swami and the traditionalists, represent the resistance to reform. Their excommunication of Moorthy exposes the rigidity of caste and the conflict between old and new values. These characters are drawn not with hatred but with realism; Raja Rao shows that they act according to their beliefs and conditioning.
9. Symbolism and Mythic Dimension in Characterisation
Discuss Raja Rao’s art of characterisation in Kanthapura.- Raja Rao enriches his characters with mythic and symbolic overtones. Achakka often compares Moorthy to Krishna, the Swami to Kamsa, and the struggle between the villagers and the police to the battle between the Pandavas and Kauravas. This use of myth gives a spiritual grandeur to ordinary events and makes the characters timeless.
The blending of myth and realism is central to Raja Rao’s art. His characters are rooted in everyday reality yet elevated to the level of universal archetypes. They embody eternal values — courage, faith, sacrifice, and truth — which make Kanthapura not just a political novel but a spiritual allegory of India’s rebirth.
Conclusion
Discuss Raja Rao’s art of characterisation in Kanthapura.- Raja Rao’s art of characterisation in Kanthapura is a perfect synthesis of realism, symbolism, and spirituality. He does not merely describe individuals; he creates a living world of human relationships shaped by faith, tradition, and change. His characters — Moorthy the saintly reformer, Achakka the faithful narrator, Rangamma the intellectual leader, Ratna the spirited widow, and the village community — together form a complete portrait of India in transition.
Through these characters, Raja Rao transforms a small South Indian village into a microcosm of the Indian nation. His genius lies in his ability to make the local universal, the simple profound, and the ordinary heroic. The characters of Kanthapura continue to live in readers’ minds not only because they are real but because they represent the enduring spirit of India — rooted in the soil, nourished by faith, and reaching upward toward freedom and truth.
