Doctor of Philosophy

Transcription

1 SEMIOTIC ENCOUNTERS: TEXT, IMAGE AND TRANSCULTURE: THE DOUBLE SEMIOTIC OF DEVDAS, THE BOOK & FILM THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF Doctor of Philosophy IN COMPARATIVE INDIAN LITERATURE BY SAMANA ASAGHAR UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF PROF. A.R. FATIHI DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 2016

2 Prof. A.R. Fatihi Phone: , Ext 1521(O) Mob.: DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH , INDIA Dated : Certificate This is to certify that Miss Samana Asghar has completed the thesis entitled Semiotic Encounter: Text, Image and Transculture: The Double Semiotic of DEVAS, the Book & Film for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Indian Literature, Department of Linguistics, under my supervision. It is further certified that Miss. Samana Asaghar has fulfilled all the conditions laid down in the academic ordinances with regard to the Ph.D. degree, and that to the best of my knowledge the thesis contains her own original research. Prof. A.R. Fatihi Supervisor

3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I am thankful to the Almighty Allah for providing me strength and blessing to complete the task of research. I feel honored having this opportunity to thank all those who helped me to complete this study. In fact without their much needed support and motivation, I would have never been able to submit this thesis. I sincerely want to thank my esteemed and distinguished supervisor, Professor A.R. Fatihi for his guidance and valuable suggestions and contributions towards this study. I am grateful to him for being not only a supervisor but also father figure. It is privilege to have a supervisor like him whose mesmerizing voice will always echo in my heart. I am deeply indebted to my parents who have been constant source of inspiration for me. May Allah give peace and prosperity to my father Late Husain Asghar Rizvi whose unconditional love kept me going in this endeavour. I cannot express my feeling towards my mother Mrs. Rukhsana Bano, who is my strength. She always motivated, and encouraged me in every situation. Without their encouragement and affection it would not have been possible for me to complete this work. I also wish to thanks to my younger sisters Fatima Asghar, Alisha Abrar, Sakina Asghar for their selfless love, affection and support. I really owe to my husband, Mr. Mohd. Husain Jaun merely words cannot describe the unconditional support from him and my in-laws Mr. Badiuzzama and Mrs. Chand Tara. I am expressing my gratitude to all my relatives. I most sincerely thank Professor Shabana Hameed Chairperson, Department of Linguistics for his encouragement and advice at various stages of the preparation of this work. I would like to express special thanks to Prof. S. Imtiaz Hasnain, Prof. K.S. Mustafa, Mr. Masood Ali Beg, Dr. Nazreen Bee Lashkar, Dr. Aziz Khan, Dr. Samina A. Surti Department of Linguistics, who gave me full support and cooperation all through the research work. A special thank however, goes to Mr. Najibul Hasan, Seminar Library in charge for his great cooperation in issuing and sometimes suggesting useful books. i

4 My sincere thanks to my office staff Mr. Haseebur Rahman, Mr.Asif, Ms. Noor Bano, Mrs. Mumtaz, Mr. Vijay and to Mr. A. K. Goel I am also thankful to my dear friends and well wishers Mr. Bairam Khan, Ms. Farah, Ms. Nazia Saleem Ansari, Ms. Shubi Khan, Ms. Darakshan Parveen, Ms. Zoya Ahmed, Ms. Kainat Fatima, Ms Farhana Zaidi, Mr. Indranil Sen, Mr. Meraj Ahmad and Mr. Israr Ansari, Zeenat Apa who were always there for me to provide me with all sort of assistance. The closer they are to me, lesser I feel the necessity to thank them. However, I must take full responsibility for errors, inconsistencies, omissions and misrepresentations in this in this thesis. Samana Asaghar ii

5 ABSTRACT The research topic Semiotic Encounters: Text, Image and Transculture: The Double Semiotic of DEVDAS, the Book & Film proposes to examine the general theoretical issues which are present in the narrative art of Devdas; a popular Bengali novel, written in 1917, by Bengali fiction writer Saratchandra Chattopadhyay. The research will also review the phenomenon of translation of fiction. As we all know that the Devdas narrative was first adapted into a silent film in Devdas has spellbound number of readers and film going audiences similar for the well again part of a century. While not much is known about this first Devdas film, its subsequent appeal across gender, class and regional lines is attested to by many remakes: A Bengali version in 1935 Three Hindi versions in 1936, 1955 and 2008 Two Telegu versions in 1953 and 1974 A Malayalam version in 1989 Chapter One : INTRODUCTION The intention of the present study is to review the narrative art of the novel Devdas along with each adaptation and translation of Saratchandra Chattopadhyay's tragic tale to see whether these inter-semiotic translations support translation models or not. The intention of the present research study is to provide a description of film narrative as a literary work of art. The present study will explore the way the narrative material is organized and presented. The study will explore the narrative techniques of the text which has made it accessible for the adaption. Further, study will explore the reasoning of the narratives in the adapted form to reach to audience through Devdas. The story of Devdas and Paro is about two childhood sweethearts who part when Devdas is sent away to Calcutta by his father, the local zamindar. Devdas returns to Calcutta, but his unfulfilled love for Paro haunts him every now and then. In Devdas the reader's involvement is vigilantly aimed at and controlled even in those passages where the narrator hides behind the events or the characters. 1

6 In totality, narrator in Devdas is quite intricate and diverse. The method of the narrator in Devdas requires a steady rational effort on the part of the reader, involving careful thought and attention to every detail of the narrative. Even though Devdas (1955) established its own visual style and bore the imprint of the production values of the studio system, the persistence of the Devdas myth determined that audiences establish the continuities and disjuncture of this transcription in comparison with earlier versions of Devdas. Devdas replicates the same perpetual account of love. The initial focus of the narrative as well as the filmic versions remains the childhood comradeship between Devdas and Parvati, almost in solidarity. For convenience the present section will divide into two subsections dealing with the DEVDAS and the Narrative Art separately. The purpose of the present research study is to provide a description of film narrative as a literary work of art. It aims at presenting a way of reading, which is based on the employment of tools and principles current in the study of literature, and it combines summary and methodological survey with the observation of new aspects. The objective of the study is to find out the narrative art in text, equivalence in polysemous expression and impact of narrative art in film with the help of inter semiotic translation. Chapter Second : INTER TEXTUAL TRANSLATION: EVALUATING EQUIVALENCE OF POLYSEMOUS WORDS In the second chapter of the research we propose to examine the use of polysemous words in the translated text of Devdas. The comprehension of polysemous words is impossible. This chapter will discuss the textual analyses of text DEVDAS. Chapter Third : THE FILM SEMIOTICS OF DEVDAS The third chapter of the present study analyses the formal frame to make up the textual systems, frequently separated a codes which are small in their number, then tracing their interweaving across the film DEVDAS (1936) DEVDAS (1955) and DEVDAS (2002). It is hoped that the semiotic analysis of DEVDAS will give accentuated cinematic component which are different to the component of plot and character. 2

7 The present study will focus mainly on the new language of film which is drawn from literary semiotics, narratology, psychoanalysis and structural linguistics. It will ignore the evaluative traditional terms of film criticism. The treatment of Devdas is alive in inter textual translation as well as in inter semiotic translation. Inter semiotic translation plays a vital role in theater, literature and film studies. The term FILM LANGUAGE is used by the earliest theorist of cinema. The chapter proposes to make the semiotic analysis of Devdas. It will take ten plots from 1936, 1955 and 2002 Devdas, and do the analysis through Cinematography, Comparative dialogue sets, and observation. In 55 s version, this version is more close to novel. In 02 s version, color plays a vital role and new techniques are used in this version. Objects and signs are common in the film. This version is far from the text. Now Devdas has become the powerful character in Indian cinema.. The term Devdas itself creates an ambiguity, it difficult to explain the grand success of Devdas in a form of text and film. At some extant we can say that, narrative art of Devdas has powerful attraction for the audience. Chapter 4 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION This is the final chapter of the thesis and presented the summary and conclusions drawn from the study. This chapter presents the chapter-wise summary, besides giving the conclusion. The work will explore the concept of Inter textual translation and Inter semiotic translation. It gives the idea of narrative art from verbal to visual. It also gives recommendations and suggestions for further study in Translation Studies as well as in film semiotics. 3

8 CONTENTS Chapters Particulars Page No. Acknowledgement i - ii List of Tables iii - iv List of Graphs v List of Abbreviations vi Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction Purpose of the Study Objective of the Study Significance of the Study The Narrative Art of Devdas The Narrator in Novel and Movie The Covert Narrator Film based on the Novel Devdas The Story of Devdas P. C. Barua and Bimal Roy s Devdas Bhansali s DEVDAS The Myth of DEVDAS Redefining Devdas Love and Separation Literature Review Intersemiotic Translation of Devdas Transfer Theory Peircean Approach Research Methodology Inter Textual Translation Intersemiotic Translation 42 Chapter 2: INTERTEXTUAL TRANSLATION Introduction Componential Classical Theory Common component Diagnostic or Distinctive Component 45

9 2.2 Cognitive Semantics Translating Polysemous Words Comparing from Hindi translated text to English Translated text Bhar as adjective in Devdas Bhar as Adverb Bhar as Verb Bhar as idiomatic expression Hath as Verb Hath as Noun+postposition Hath as Adverb Hath as Noun Hath as Noun + Adverb Hath as copulative compound Hath as Noun+Pronoun Hath as Ergative Verb Conclusion 85 Chapter 3: FILM SEMIOTICS OF DEVDAS Introduction Analysis Segment: First Meeting Scene Dialogues of Hindi Translation Few Observation Segment: Chatting Scene Dialogues of Hindi Translation Few Observation Segment: Mid Night Scene Dialogues of Hindi Translation Few Observation Segment: Conversation with Father Dialogues of Hindi Translation Few Observation Segment: Devdas Left for Calcutta Dialogues of Hindi Translation 126

10 3.5.2 Few Observation Segment: Letter Scene Dialogues of Hindi Translation Few Observation Segment: River Scene Dialogues of Hindi Translation Few Observation Segment: Brothel House Scene I Dialogues of Hindi Translation Few Observation Segment: Bullock Cart Scene Dialogues of Hindi Translation Few Observation Segment: Death Scene Dialogues of Hindi Translation Few Observation 182 Chapter 4: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Introduction The Summary of the Chapter Summary of the Chapter Summary of the Chapter Segment: First meeting Scene Few observation Segment: Chatting Scene Few observation Segment: Midnight Scene Few observation Segment: Conversation with Father Few observation Segment: Devdas Left for Calcutta Few observation Segment: River Scene Few observation Segment: Brothel house Scene I 200

11 Few observation Segment: Bullock Cart Scene Few observation Segment: Death Scene Few observation Segment: Death Scene Few observation Section : B Conclusion 207 Bibliography Publication

12 LIST OF TABLES Table No. Title Page No. 1.1 Intersemiotic List Intertextual list Comparison between Hindi text (L1) and English text (L2) of word Bhar. 2.2 Comparison between Hindi text (L1) and English text (l2) of word Hath. 2.3 English translation of the above examples by Sreejata Guha Types of Equivalents Frequency of Equivalence English translation of the above examples by Sreejata Guha Types of Equivalents Frequency of Equivalence English translation of the above example by Sreejata Guha Type of Equivalent Frequency of Equivalence English translation of the above examples by Sreejata Guha Types of Equivalents Frequency of Equivalence Bhar as Total English translation of the above examples by Sreejata Guha Types of Equivalents Frequency of Equivalence English translation of the above examples by Sreejata Guha Types of Equivalents Frequency of Equivalence English translation of the above examples by Sreejata Guha Types of Equivalents Frequency of Equivalence English translation of the above example by Sreejata Guha Type of Equivalent Frequency of Equivalence iii

13 2.28 English translation of the above example by Sreejata Guha Type of Equivalent Frequency of Equivalence English translation of the above example by Sreejata Guha Type of Equivalent Frequency of Equivalence English translation of the above example by Sreejata Guha Type of Equivalent Frequency of Equivalence English translation of the above example by Sreejata Guha Type of Equivalent Frequency of Equivalence Total Frequency of Hath Showing the Screenplay/Script of the Scene Showing the Comparative Dialogue Showing the Screenplay/Script of the Scene Showing the Comparative Dialogue Showing the Screenplay/Script of the Scene Showing the Comparative Dialogue Showing the Screenplay/Script of the Scene Showing the Comparative Dialogue Showing the Screenplay/Script of the Scene Showing the Comparative Dialogue Showing the Screenplay/Script of the Scene Showing the Comparative Dialogue Showing the Screenplay/Script of the Scene Showing the Comparative Dialogue Showing the Screenplay/Script of the Scene Showing the Comparative Dialogue Showing the Screenplay/Script of the Scene Showing the Comparative Dialogue Showing the Screenplay/Script of the Scene Showing the Comparative Dialogue 181 iv

14 LIST OF GRAPH Graph No. Title Page No. 2.1 Frequency of Hindi word bhar as an Adjective Frequency of Hindi word bhar as an Adverb Frequency of Hindi word bhar as a Verb Frequency of Hindi word bhar as an Idiomatic Expression Total Frequency of Hindi word bhar Frequency of Hindi word hath as a Verb Frequency of Hindi word hath as Noun + Postposition Frequency of Hindi word hath as an Adverb Frequency of Hindi word hath as a Noun Frequency of Hindi word hath as a Noun + Adverb Frequency of Hindi word hath as a Copulative Compound Frequency of Hindi word hath as a Noun + Pronoun Frequency of Hindi word hath as an Ergative Verb Total Frequency of Hindi word hath 85 v

15 LIST OF ABBREVIATION DD PR CM PRM PRG MM DDF DDM DDBH DMD MH PRH OL CL CM CC Devdas Parvati Chandramukhi Parvati s Mother Parvati s Grand Mother Manorma Devdas father Devdas Mother Devdas brother s wife/devdas sister in law Dharamdas Mohan/Mahendra Parvati s Husband Old Lady Chunilal Chandramukhi Courtesan Visitor/Customer vi

16 Chapter - 1 Introduction

17 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction: The tragic triangle linking the self-destructive Devdas, his forbidden childhood love Parvati and the reformed prostitute Chandramukhi was first told in the popular and influential 1917 Bengali novella by Saratchandra Chattopadhyay ( ). The story has since become one of the touchstones of popular Indian cinema. Devdas translated and visualized into various Indian languages it has become an important part of South Asian culture the Devdas narrative was first adapted into a silent film in the year While not much is known about this first Devdas film, its subsequent appeal across gender, class and regional lines is attested by too many remakes: a Bengali version in 1935; three Hindi versions in 1936, 1955 and 2002; two Telugu versions in 1953 and 1974 and a Malayalam version in Narrative becomes a "mythological reference point for Hindi melodrama" (Rajadhyaksha & Willemen). The intention of the present study is to review the narrative art of the novel, Devdas along with each adaptation and translation of Saratchandra Chattopadhyay's tragic tale to see whether these inter-semiotic translations support the translation models or not. It aims at presenting a way of reading, which is based on the employment of tools and principles current in the study of literature, and it combines summary and methodological survey with the observation of new aspects. The literary features dealt with in the study are lavishly illustrated with examples designed to clarify as well as to throw new light on narratives or parts of narratives. The examples have been selected not only from Saratchandra Chattopadhyay's novel Devdas but in particular films which is based on this novel Purpose of the Study: The purpose of the present study is to provide a description of an art of narrative as a literary work. It investigates, the inter textuality in equivalence of polysemous word when the text is being translated from Hindi to English. It investigates, the intersemiotic translation from text to film. This work is different from previous works because it investigates the treatment of narrative art in an intertextual translation and intersemiotic translation. 1

18 1.2 Objectives of the Study: 1. To study, the narrative art in terms of translation. 2. To explore, the general theoretical issues of narrative in novel as well as in film. 3. To identify, the polysemous word within the Hindi text. 4. To explore, the treatment of equivalence in polysemous words when they are translated into English. 5. To explore, the interpretation of polysemous words. 6. To investigate, the gap when polysemous words are translated. 7. To explore the differences and similarities from text to film. 8. To investigate the intersemiotic relation. 9. To explore the semiotic theory. 10. To analyze the difference that appears due to cinematography. 1.3 Significance of the Study: The significance of the present study is that translation plays a significant role to transform not only from one code to another, but it is the medium of cultural understanding, global understanding of a region and its life. Indian studies play an important role in it. Translation is the root of Indian study. This study is significant because it follows the serious attempt, to get the understanding of the narrative art functioning in inter textual translation and in intersemiotic translation. This study attempts to enhance the role of narrative art in Devdas text and film. It provides the understanding of the equivalence in polysemous words of Hindi text Devdas, how they can be translated into English language. It reveals an approach in intersemiotic translation from text to film, how verbal has been taken place into visual. This study is also hoped to be a good source of knowledge for translation. At the end, it also help those interested people, who want to know the function and process of narrative art in text and film, equivalence of polysemous words from one text to another and intersemiotic relationship from text to film The Narrative Art of Devdas: According, with a prevailing tradition in the work of narrative art it will be guided today, attention in this study will be directed mainly to the structural and 2

19 formal aspects of film narratives, along with the details of their linguistic fashioning. In other words, the research study will not only be restricted to the narrative of Devdas, it comes into consideration from time to time. The study will focus upon the study of techniques, modes of design, types of narration and those elements, which connect to provide the shape of narratives. In this way, narrative can be presented and organized. The subject matter, themes and values of the narrative cannot exist separately from the techniques, which define its character no less than the content. It is through the techniques that the meaning of the facts of the narrative is determined. Techniques and forms can emphasize or minimize narrative materials, bring a topic into the foreground or push it into the background. They hint at causal and other connections between events and constitute the principal means whereby the narrative impresses itself upon the reader, directing the attitudes and reactions to what is related. It makes no difference if the author used the techniques consciously or not, the crucial point is what formal methods are actually present in the work, what they contribute and how they function. Thus, by paying attention to methods, structures and forms, the foundations on which the meanings and influence of the narrative are based on the present study will be able to unravel the art of narrative in Devdas. As a result the ensuing interpretation will rest upon firm ground. The examination of form and design will also reveal additional, subtler and more precise meanings. Though every narrative is a peculiar entity, it consists of universal components and techniques, which are shared by other narratives. Through being combined and utilized in particular ways, they build the structure of the individual narrative. The components and techniques are closely inter-connected, operating in concert and influencing one another. In order to attain a systematic and organized understanding of the various forms. However, it is necessary to unravel the fabric of the complete narrative technique separately and consecutively. This study will deal first with the narrator, modes of narration, and then with the shaping of the characters, the structure of the plot, time and space, and the details of style. After examining the various aspects individually, an analysis of an entire narrative, encompassing all these aspects, will be undertaken. 3

20 1.5. The Narrator in Novel & Movie: The correspondence of narrator to its narrative is quite disparate with those of relationships within other art genres; for instance, a painter to its painting or a composer to its musical composition. In the vein of many other narratives, in Devdas there is an unambiguous presence of narrator being sensed inside the narrative. Saratchandra Chattopadhyay is an integral part of the work, and therefore he can indisputably be considered as one of the structural components of Devdas. From time to time his presence becomes apparent and perceptible in the narrative of Devdas (for instance, in first-person narratives), while sometimes he is not that evident or defined, and we consequently tend to put his existence out of our minds. Even in the second instance, nevertheless, it is obvious that there is someone who divulges and discloses the events in a sequential manner before us and addresses us within the narrative. One distinguishing feature of a novel making it distinctive from its sister art, drama and film is in the existence of the narrator within the narrative. The drama and the novel share a common ground so, as in characters being unveiled from one to another and we scrutinize what befalls them as well as hear their conversations but quite differentiating in drama and film the author is felt only indirectly, through the characters, whereas in novel the narrator exists alongside the character and the narrator's voice is no less heard as that of the characters. While drama and films feature the direct presentation of the characters and their background before us, leading to an instant encounter between the characters and the audience, the novelistic make-up is such that there is a whole universe of imagination embodied which doesn t have an outreach to our consciousness without the narrator's mediation. Our sight and the perception we make; along with our audibility and the understanding we derive; is totally reliant on narrator's intercession through his eyes and ears. What we mean to say is that we do not have this straightforward access to the characters of a narrative like that of drama and films, and their speech is even embedded in the narrator's through such phrases as, 'And he said', 'And she answered'. The narrator is an essential category, as it were, constituting the sole means by which we can apprehend the reality, which subsists within a narrative. The quintessence of this actuality and the very essence of the narrative world, with no exception to its characters, events, and, most importantly, their significance and worthiness are completely dependent on the narrator, who acts for us as a bridge for comprehension. 4

21 Accordingly, the magnitude of the excellence of the narrators and the technique through which they mediate is of absolute significance. There is no identical similitude by which we can be acquainted with the narrator by being on familiar terms with the individuality of the writer as a real person. Information about the writer's real life and knowledge about his biographic data does not necessarily have a say in a better conception of the character of narrator in the novel. The attitude, moral values and typical features of the two can be entirely diverse. The stature of the 'implied author' and his methodology of looking at and presenting things is a vital ingredient of the nature of work and is revealed to us only through its study and comprehension. It has also become part of a tradition to establish a distinction between the author and the narrator based on their peculiarity; where the narrator s role lies in presenting to us to the sequential episodes of events and which particular characters are communicating at a particular instance. On the other hand, the author depends on his recognition through what the narrator states amalgamating with the dialogue of the characters (which is formulated by the author) and through the organization of the narrative materials, plot, time, space, etc. The paramount method for developing an approach to the narrator and his narrative mode is by being inquisitive of their perspective; from which they watch the events and through which the connection between the narrator and the narrative world is represented. There are many possibilities in this regard, in order to express the importance of narrator. There are knowledgeable narrators, who have information about everything about the characters and their presence can be sensed everywhere, as opposed to narrators whose has a limited knowledge. The knowledgeable narrator is acquainted with the events, so much so that they seep through tough obstacles, even embedding the hidden recesses of people's minds. The latter observe things from the outside only. Narrators who directly interferes into the main storyline by giving their interpretations and evaluations, and whose existence is evident, as opposed to narrators who tend to be silent and self-effacing. The former type intrudes into the story by directly communicating with the readers by means of adding their own 5

22 comments and explanations, while the latter s role lies in simply communicating the story itself. Narrator who relates to the story from a distant perspective, offering a panoramic bird s-eye view, in contrast to the narrators who are close to the events, portraying them with the minimum of mediation, presenting scenes and letting the characters speak for themselves. Narrators who prefer to look at the events from an outward perception, as if from above, apparently hovering above the characters, as opposed to narrators who look at events from the viewpoint of one of the participants. Neutral or objective narrators as opposed to narrators who adopt a definite attitude about what they are relating. The former mode of narration will be more materialistic, factual and devoid of emotional involvement, while the latter will evince approval or disapproval, acceptance or rejection, praise or censure, and perhaps even identification or abhorrence. These distinctions represent the extremes, and in actual the standpoint of a narrative lie anywhere between these limits. It is also notable that this wide variety of viewpoints opens a broader perspective for a moderate narrator to use these features in a variety of different permutations and combinations. It is not necessary for a particular viewpoint to be consistently maintained throughout a narrative. Predominance of one viewpoint can be observed, but there exists no ground why it ought not to be replaced by another subsequently. There is importance of point (or points) of the view of a narrative for a number of reasons. On the first hand, one of the factors harmonizing unity to a work of literature, which naturally engage faintness and diversity as considered for characters, events, places and times. It has been said that the narrator's point of view is the 'fourth unity' (after Aristotle's three: unity of time, place and plot), as it intermingles the array of viewpoints of the characters in one common panorama. Secondly, the outlook, which has been elected commands, what has to be narrated where and how and from what distance, whether close or afar. The narrator here decides what has to be included in a picture and what not, he decides everything from top to end just like a photographer who adjusts even the angle and distance of his camera. So as any picture is reliant on the viewpoint of the camera, the nature of the narrative depends on the point of perspective from which the events are presented. 6

23 Thirdly, there can be an enormous enhancement in the anticipation and suspense of the narrative, if a suitable point of view is taken. In order to allure the readers, the narrative needs a slight change so that even the reader becomes a part of it. A narrative, which is unable to attract many readers or their interest cannot fulfill its task. The reader is totally dependent on the narrative; hence it is an obligation of the narrative to make the storyline fascinating for the readers, be it through different viewpoints or various amplifications. Fourthly, the reader s viewpoint depends on the direction of the author s outlook. As in, if the author has a positive approach the reader too, will have the same and vice versa. Generalizing, the reader identifies less with the characters of the narrative than with the author, seeing the characters through the author's eyes and adopting that stance towards them. The author's attitudes and views are not separate from the facts of the narrative (as is the case in a certain kind of fable, where the moral is always appended at the end), but are mixed with them, being apparent in the way the narrative discloses. The 'what' and 'how' affects the reader, namely, what is related and how this is done. Among the most important of the 'how' factors are the various points of view by which the author perceives and moulds the characters and their actions, determining the way in which the reader apprehends and is inclined towards them. The value of the narrative is, therefore, dependent to a considerable extent on the system of the viewpoint. This system of viewpoint is undoubtedly of significance in the story of Devdas. It attracts its readers and nears to communicate its outlook on life, people, good and evil of the society. On the other hand, the visionary literature express their views openly urging that they be customary, the narrative of Devdas functions in an unremarkable way, and thereby using its own technique, plays a vital role. The narrator of Devdas manages to cross the threshold to reach the interior chambers. He is now in the vicinity of an extreme intimate ambiance where he is seen to hear whispers of inaccessible banters. The lover s subdued sexuality is seen to be expressed in the climax; for example, in a scene of him scaring her. All credits to the narrator s aptitude and dexterity, which made us, the readers and the viewers acquainted with the deepest relationship of the ascent and descent between the two lovers. 7

24 To the narrator, the novella is as clear as a crystal. The narrator beautifully expounds the sentiments of the characters through their dialogues and activity instead of direct recount and description and it is left on the readers to derive their own conclusion, thoughts and the core of the emotions from its explicit expression. Nevertheless, mostly this is the style picked by the narrator, but he excels in his attempts, for in the following examples he is seen to cross the minds of the characters, making every bit of their sentiments achievements, setbacks and motives vivid and apparent. Sometimes, these core views are independent of the direct inference from any account of speech and activity. On many instances the outer persona of the icons is a direct propagation unfolding their inner emotional setup. When an intrinsic view entails an account of external activity, the notification regarding the characters inner life should not be treated as an end product or complete description, on the narrators part based on the external behavior, but as a section of information similar in its validity, essence and stance in its every feature feeling the taste of the same commendation of narrators authority. In this aspect, there is an elemental disparity between a work of literature and a film. Below in examples narrator gives a report of the characters inner sentiments be it independent or in link with the light of about related outer conduct. The evidence of the narrators unending wisdom is at zenith regarding Devdas, whose feelings, emotions, outlook and verdict is well known to the narrator. The narrator most often does not endow us with knowledge regarding Devdas internal feeling. In an end result, we can presuppose that when such information is specified, the affair is of exceptional magnitude. Thus, it is comprehensible that the narrator's diffusion into the characters, psyche is by no means an infrequent and bizarre happening. It is Impossible, however, to take no notice of the fact that these revelations grant an epigrammatic and laconic report of on hand state of mind, and do not explains its fruition. The psychological life of the characters does not become a subject in its own right, and the narrator barely ever offers straight report about the courses going on in their minds. We may rummage around narratives of Devdas unproductively for direct expression of internal negotiations, rational clash or psychological qualms and vacillations. The narrator is at ease with endowing succinct glimpses of the inner 8

25 lives of characters, informing us from time to time of the contemporary state of affairs in their minds. For example in that climatic scene where Devdas meets Parvati a day prior to wedding and attempts to make amends. Parvati hurt from the rejection, tells Devdas she is glad that her parents have arranged her marriage with a mature and responsible man. What is more, she knows her own worth, now--she knows that she is beautiful as well as wise. Devdas, by contrast, is narcissistic and lacking in moral stature. He is incensed by Parvati's comments, since the charge echoes the pre existing orient list discourse on Bengali masculinity and Devdas's own inferiority complex. Accusing Parvati of supreme pride which must be tamed, and comparing her beauty to that of the perfection of a full moon which is marked by a scar on its face, Devdas hits Parvati on the forehead with a stick. Parvati is instantly subdued. Devdas proceeds to break and throw away the stick and immediately to bandage Parvati's forehead. He tells Parvati that in the years to come this mark that he has left on her face will always be remind her of him. More than often also, the narrator hides from reader share this unending knowledge, failing to reveal even a tiny proportion of the characters inner globe. In later scenes Parvati does indeed caress the scar when thinking of Devdas. It is interesting that in a subsequent shot wherein Parvati receives a letter from a friend telling her that Devdas has returned to the village where he whiles away his time shooting birds, the sequence is inter-cut with a shot of Devdas re-visiting the bank of the river where he had inflicted the wound on Parvati. The narrator does not offer any clue to these and many other queries in narratives. In some scenes the characters purpose, which are known to the narrator, are not exposed to us until they are made explicit in the language of performance. Thus, the narrator does not unveil the intent of Devdas when he writes the momentous letter to Parvati where he states:- "It has never occurred to me that I desire you." Parvati interprets this as his rejection of her, but there is some suggestion that Parvati is not sufficiently different from him to be an object of his desire. 9

26 In the examples mentioned here the characters in the narrative yearn to keep their objectives surreptitious. Accordingly, the narrator also abstains from unveiling them, at the same time contributing to heighten the apprehension. Sometimes, the narrator does not give a direct knowledge of the characters deepest feelings and approach. There is mere account of their external conduct, their motions and emotions. To all intents and reasons, the narrator is plainly incarcerating the situation as made known to the viewer. While we study literature, a variation is typically made between editorial omniscience, when the narrator makes annotations about the characters and events into the narrative, and neutral omniscience, when the narrative is permitted to verbalize for its own self. In the former, the narrator is very palpable, while in the latter it is not quite undergone. This peculiarity is expedient but its symbiotic temperament should not be elapsed, since there is a gamut of transitional circumstances between these two contrasting ones. The occurrence of narrators within narratives is felt to the largest part when they submit to themselves, in either the first or the third person, when they bring up the actions commenced in fashioning the narrative, such as jotting it up or check with basis, or when they take in hand their readers directly. In all these cases, a dual structure is created within the narrative in addition to the echelon of events, which is the main one, there is the echelon of the narrator, who stands forward as the conciliator between the world of the narrative and the reader or the viewer.(audience). Despite, the fact that in the narratives of Devdas, Saratchandra does not frequently mention himself or attend to their spectators. Conversely, the phrases like to this day refer to the narrator's time and not to that when the events described events took place. By citing his own epoch, narrator sidetracks notice from the section of the recounted events to that of his own era. The expression 'to this day' is usually regarded as an etiological expression, namely, one demonstrating that the narrative tends is to enlighten the origin of a name or phenomenon which subsisted in the narrators time. However, the phrase 'to this day' can also be regarded as an endeavor to endow with evidence corroborating the story ligating the world estimated in the narrative with that of the narrator and the audience and thus giving the story standing. By referring to the present the narrator impairs the propinquity of the narrative and the audiences aptitude to become engrossed in the world thus fashioned; on the other 10

27 hand, conversely, the narrator delivers a testimony of the story, which the people in the audience can validate for themselves. Narrators refer to their own time circuitously by means of the slogan 'in those days'. This expression denotes the time of the story from the narrator's standpoint, signifying that there is a time lapse between the period in which the events took place and that of the narrator. By making a note of this reality both the time of the story, which is given a direct recommendation by the phrase 'in those days', and the time of the narrator, which is implicated by an indirect recommendation, are subjected to the reader's insight. In majority of cases when the turn of phrase 'in those days' occurs in Devdas, it hails to express the disparity between the situation in the narrator's time and that during the period, which is being described in the narrative. There are also cases when the phrase 'in those days' serves to connect different narratives by noting that they occurred at the same period. In any kind of depiction, this expression creates distance between the narrator and the story. Consequently, between the reader and the story too. This remoteness is crucial too, in order to allow the readers to reflect on the significance of the events. The reader is no longer borne along with the sequential flow of the events, but can observe them from above in a wide, panoramic view. To conclude, the end product of the explanations, judgments and analysis of the kinds cited above is to create distance and reduce the reader's emotional involvement. A reader who is exceedingly absorbed in the plot is neither able enough to see the events analytically, nor can interpret them dispassionately in an objective way in order to assess their significance. A certain amount of emotional distance is a prerequisite for a clear examination of the incidents, and without it, it is impossible to grasp the ideas in the narrative. The explanations help in understanding the narrative, emphasizing certain points and influencing the construction of the reader's opinion in accordance with the author's ideas and values. There is another side of the coin, however, outsized or frequent interventions by the narrator spoil the illusion of reality in the narrative, distracting attention of the readers from the events of the narrative to the craft of narration and from the incidents themselves to the attitude towards them. The less aware, we are of narrator's existence, the more realistic and vivid the narrative appears. Sometimes, it is quite deviating for the readers to sense every now 11

28 and then, that there is someone who is continuously mediating between us and the story and interpreting things for us. If narrators aspire to desist from exaggerating effects in this manner they must keep analysis and elucidation to a bare minimum. A small number of intrusions will not impair the chimera of veracity, and this, undeniably, is the scheme taken up by narrator in the novel Devdas. Direct intrusion is neither plentiful nor far-reaching and this by a long way contributes to the luminosity and nearness of the narratives of Devdas. While of course, it is not the only feature which makes it the most distinguished narrative. 1.6 The Covert Narrator: Whenever the flow of the narrative is interrupted in order to supply explanations and interpretations, the narrator's existence is felt quite clearly and as has been stated above, the distinction between an overt narrator, whose presence is clearly apparent and a covert one, whose existence is minimized, should not be regarded as an absolute and unequivocal one. But even in those parts of the narrative and they constitute the majority when the narrator reveals the actual events to us, there are some slight indications of a guiding and elucidating hand. And in these sections of the narrative too, it is possible to speak of different levels of the narrator's existence, sometimes more covert and sometimes less so. Indeed, there are many readers whose attention is geared towards events and characters. Their chief interest is in the development of the plot, and they will not sense the narrator's concealed existence. However, there are readers who read in a more responsive way. They will pay attention to the more or less delicate techniques of the narrative and will be attentive in the actual presentation of events where the narrator's existence can be professed. At this juncture, we will discuss the Saratchandra's method in those parts of the narrative which, omitting interpretation or explanation, focus on genuine narration, we will clarify how his presence is felt and in what way personal views are articulated. The more obvious manifestations of the narrator's activity and attitudes will be considered first, followed by those which are less apparent. Saratchandra Chattopadhyay's tragic tale of Devdas has become synonymous with a passionate, intense love that does not find consummation. The story of Devdas 12

29 and Paro is about two childhood sweethearts who part when Devdas is sent away to Calcutta by his father, the local zamindar. On Devdas s arrival as a handsome lad of nineteen, Paro asks him to marry her but Devdas who is unable to stand up to parental opposition to the match, rejects the proposition. Taken aback, Paro agrees to marry an elderly widower. Devdas returns to Calcutta, but his unfulfilled love for Paro haunts him every now and then. Distressed to overcome this somehow, he runs to Paro who is now married and asks her to elope with him, but she refuses. Disheartened Devdas now finds comfort in alcohol and in the companionship of the courtesan Chandramukhi. Chandramukhi begins to love Devdas, but even when he is with her he can only think of Paro. It is now his destiny to hurtle on insistently on the path to self-destruction. Devdas s tormented life ends when, dying of a liver ailment brought on by alcoholism, he journeys to Paro s house to see her one last time. Arriving in the middle of the night, he dies unfamiliar, untended, on her doorstep. Paro comes to know of his death the following morning. Devdas has spellbound number of readers and film going audiences similar for the well again part of a century. There is a lack of tendentiousness in representing characters and events by the narrator. Devdas, was a bound man, bound by rules of society, family and traditions of marriage. His love was a way out of these bindings twined around him. Devdas could have married Paro. She had insisted but he possibly understood and relented to Paro s self-pride. He left Paro totally distanced contained in her entirety. In Devdas closeness is defined into the despised Chandramukhi, a fallen woman in any case. The dissimilarity is crucial as Devdas places social constraints upon himself. This is eventually the masculinity of modernity when all categories of perceptions are thought through the men. The personality of Devdas was shaped in the conditions of cultural contexts of the times of the narrator. This worth of objectivity has been given to the narrator for two main reasons: 1. In Devdas he does not mask the pessimistic aspects of the protagonists. 2. He commonly relates measures in a realistic and impassionate manner, refraining from pathos, expressions of sympathy or joy, praise or censure, and describing even the most shocking incidents in a controlled way, without going into gory details. 13

30 Anyhow, it does not stand true that the narrator in Devdas is completely objective. In actual fact, there is no such thing as a absolutely objective narration, for even if he does not conceal the character negative aspects and use a controlled and factual style, as the narrator does, this does not mean that Sharatchandra remains unbiased towards his protagonists. He depicts Devdas as the result of his era when Bengal was agog with projects that would humanize women, liberate them from being burnt as widows, not incarcerate them as young widows and accept their rights of being educated. Such projects around women could work only if men allowed them space and refrained from making women objects of their will, desire and lust. Devdas immerses himself in his addiction and gives more and more space to Paro, creating an ever-greater scope for her to develop. Indeed, his stance is indicated by implication rather than unambiguously, but this method is no less successful than the direct and obvious one. On the differing, as it is not eye-catching and functions covertly, it tends to be more effective in transmitting narrators ethics to the readers. Therefore, the narrator's illustrative activity is manifest wherever evaluative terms characterizing the protagonists within the text of the narrative and as an integral part of it. Sharatchandra has at his disposal two principal ways of presenting events in the narrative (these form either end of a continuum, with intermediate points between them). The first one is to provide a summary account of what has happened, while the second is to show the events himself. One the summary account he regards the events from a remote (optical) point of view, unfolding a wide, all-inclusive landscape in front of the reader. In the first instance, we receive a report of what has taken place, in the second we see things happening with our own eyes, as it were. Each approach complements the other, for while the second one is dramatic and intense it is limited, failing to give a comprehensive view. In order to accomplish this the first approach, which provides an widespread report, is required. When the method of summary account is used he is more evident than that of showing scenes is employed, since the more he summarizes and attempts to condense many events into one broad picture, the more his activity as mediators between the reader and the events is felt. This activity unavoidably entails certain estimation and interpretation of what is occurring, since as a narrator he will include only those incidents, which he considers to be fundamental. Both these approaches are 14