JOURNAL OF INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH IN
HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
EXPRESSION OF INDIANNESS THROUGH
VOCABULARY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
SELECTED SHORT-STORY INDIAN WRITERS IN
ENGLISH
MRINALINI P. THAKER,
Research Scholar at Singhania University, Rajasthan. And Assistt. Professor in English
at Bhavan’s college, Khanpur, Ahmadabad.
ABSTRACT : Indian English writing is an endeavor to give a nonspecific cover to the Indian thoughts seeking
creative outlet in and through English. Today, many Indian writers write in English because they think their
creative urge can be satisfied in a better way in English than in the vernacular. Prof. Srinivasa Iyengar rightly
pointed out that Indian writing in English is a novel experiment in creative mutation when he said: To be Indian
in thought and feeling and emotion and experience, yet also to court the graces and submit to the discipline of
English for expression [1], is something that the present writers aim at. The post-independence Indian English
writers may write in English, however they are Indian in sensibility as well as in selection of vocabularys, which
is rooted in and stems out from the Indian environment.
Literature is the reflection of the society. Walter
Allen calls it the Mirror of the Age. A mirror that
reflects not merely the external features of the age but
also its inner face, its nervous system, course of its
blood and the unconscious prompting and conflict
which sways it. Consequently, in a work of art, that
is, a well-realized creative effort, presence of Indianness is invariable expressed. It has to be noted that
within the text, a good writer does not give direct
indications of such a presence, but that the
operational response of the Indian writer could be
deduced by the sensibility working in it. What
characterizes the Indian-ness in the writing is finally
‘the mind behind the organization’ of the context, the
life-attitudes, and modes of perception.
As the writer shows us the changing trends
of his times, the other equally important aspect of a
work is its vocabulary. The relationship between a
writer and language is an interesting one. India is a
multilingual country, many urban Indians speak more
than one language. An Indian writer writing in
English reflects this multilingual situation in India.
Indian short-stories in English is a vast field which
includes three types of short-stories – first the SS
translated from regional language to English,
secondly SS written in English by Indian writers
living in India and thirdly SS written by Indian
writers living outside India (Diaspora). English
writing in English has a recent history, as it is
roughly one and a half century old. In its early stage,
it was influenced by western art form of literature.
The early Indian writers use English which is
unadulterated by Indian words. But gradually the
trend is changing, the recent writers use English,
which is peppered with Indian terms, they use Indian
vocabulary to convey an experience which is
essentially Indian – a theme that that represents the
vast canvas of Indian-ness, that is to say its long
history, unique geography, diverse demography, its
customs, tradition, religious practices, family life,
food, clothing etc.
The paper takes up the text Let’s Go Home
and Other Stories edited by Menakshi Mukherjee. In
this collection of SS 14 stories by different Indian
writers has been put together. The collections of SS
reflect the fragrance of Indian soil and culture. Out of
the 14 SS the research is limited to four stories
namely 1.The White Dove by Indrayani Sowakar,
2.Glory at Twilight by Bhabani Bhattacharaya, 3.The
Zamindar of Pallipurum by Sujatha Bala
Subramaniam 4. The Cow of Baarricade by Raja
Rao.
This paper, also discuss the use of certain
typical expression that an Indian writer writing in
English uses. This expression or vocabulary is used
when there is no equivalent word in English, when
expression has become common among the LI
English speakers, or to convey an expression, which
is essentially Indian. Well, today Indian English is a
distinguished dialect of English, just like British
Received Pronunciation or American English or
Standandard American. According to the Global
Language Monitor a San Diegoe based language
trend group, the English language is closing one
million words marks. It is a treat to know that a
fraction of it consists of Indian words.
ISSN: 0975 – 6701| NOV 11 TO OCT 12 | Volume 2, Issue 1
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JOURNAL OF INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH IN
HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Vocabulary is the main part of the culture
and at the times, it is also the carrier of the culture.
Indian students who is not aware about the English
culture it becomes difficult to grasp the meaning of
certain words that he cannot relate to his experiences
in life. An Indian student of English is persistently
exposed to literature that is based on another cultural
context. However, as he reads the Indian writers
writing in English this gap between the writer word
and real life experience decreases and he reads it with
pleasure. All the four stories in this collection are
selected for this purpose.
The Cow of Barricades by Raja Rao, is an allegorical
presentation of a chapter in Indian’s struggle for
Independence. It is not just a political story, but the
three distinct stands of expression- the political, the
religious, and the social are dove- tailed into one
another. A list of Indian vocabulary that conveys
Indian-ness is used in this Short Stories, words like
Gaure – the Cow, which is the symbol of traditional
mother image in India, she is also worshiped as a
goddess in Hindu culture, is a symbol of purity,
compassion, goodness and sacrifice. Other words that
reflect
the
culture
phenomena
are
–
kumkum…Laksmi…Mother’s vehical…the jackel
and the dear and the rat and the serpent…khadi and
gandhicap….temple-square….tulsiwell….goddedicated Cow….Mahatma Gandhi ki jay!(Hindi
word)
…..perfumed
sweetmeats….baswanna
bulls…..reborn again – a few words that are English
jet they carry and convey a pure Indian meaning.
The next Short Story The Zamindar of Pallipuram by
Sujatha Bala Subrahmaniam deals with the
feudalism, which has now lost its land and power.
Zamindar itself is a Hind word now frequently used
in English, meaning landlord, that had the power and
pomp just like a king. The story describes the lost
position of the Zamindar who has surrendered his
kingship at the time of Independence. However, his
etiquette and feudal pride are still there. The use of
the words like pan, chunam (lime paste used in
making pan), Sankranthi, name of festival (12th jan) ,
Manch Dinamu ( telugu word meaning a good day),
thoda, name of an ornament ( a thick bangle),viss gur
and jalebi, name of eatables, lord Vishnu, Indian god,
delineating the picturesque quality of the time and
culture.
In the Short Story Glory at Twilight by Bhabani
Bhattcharaya we see a typical Indian Marriage. The
atmosphere of rural Bengal is evoked through the
description of customs and rituals, local references,
and the presentation of character like Srinath. The
writer cleverly differentiates between two atmosphere
– one in which the protagonist Stayajit delineates the
story and the other in which we see a typical ritual of
Indian marriage. Certain typical Indian expression
like swagatam is used, but the next word is welcome
– synonym of the first one. The teacher of Srinath
uses the name of the goddess indicating the two
highest success of humankind Laksmi and Saraswati
– wealth and knowledge. He utters – even in those
days I could see two shadows from about him, clear
as life – Saraswati at his left and Lakshmi at his
right.
While in the story The White Dove, the writer
Indrayani Sowkar describes the critical situation of
the lower middle class family focusing on the pathos
of the middle-aged mother. The white dove indicates
the good omen, and is used as a symbol, but in
reality, the omen does not hold true. The dove does
not bring and good luck for the mother, who is
frustrated with her life in a chawl of Bombay where
she has no private life. Chawl is a Hindi word
meaning a crowded tenement building, and as such,
the word is used most often in and round Bombay.
The usage of expression such as chapatti, sagari,
papad, tulsi plant and particularly the description of
the over loaded language in the room’s and Radha’s
longing for if only we had a littte elbow space…gives
the story a special cultural effect.
The usage of Indian Expression is strictly a
matter of the author’s style, and is an interesting case
of cross-cultural communication within a country and
with different countries. This vocabulary is mainly
used to show a typical Indian-ness in terms of 1. Clothing, 2.address terms eg Shabhi, 3. House/
building eg. Chawal 4. Transportation, 5. Kinship
terms eg. Amma 6. Food/drink/smoke eg. Rotti, 7.
Religious festivals and Gods.
Many of the words have no equivalent or close
meaning Expression in English for replacing them, or
are not better replaced by author’s decision. In other
words, a large number of native words have become
Anglicized or are naturally mixed into the English
usage in India, which proves the fact that English and
local Indian languages coexist and blend in the daily
life of literate India. Such usage of vocabulary can
also be a criterion to measure how much Indian
culture is understood and accepted outside its original
field. Thus, such research taken on a large scale can
serve as a starting point for one area of cross-cultural
communicational studies.
References 1.
Iyengar, K. R. Srinivasa: Indian writing in
English (Asia Publishing House, 2nd edition, 1973)
P. 5.
2.
Edited by Meenakshi Mukherjee Let’s Go
Home and Other Stories.
3.
Walter Allen Reading a Novel.
ISSN: 0975 – 6701| NOV 11 TO OCT 12 | Volume 2, Issue 1
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