About the Book
Despite a 'shared history of British
imperialism, and commonalities like the English language, a democratic polity
and a craze for cricket, Australians and Indians know very little about each
other. Of
Sadhus and Spinners attempts to correct this with a range of stories that trace the
chequered history of interactions between the two nations.
From John Lang's 'The Mohammedan Mother' (1859) to Yasmine Gooneratne's
'Masterpiece' (2002), the stories in this anthology foreground a variety of
literary responses to Indo-Australian encounters. There are stories here of
Australian visitors to India who face not only physical hardships but also
challenges to their image of themselves as democratic and egalitarian, and
tales that indicate the Australian's fascination with the figure of the guru.
Also included are stories about and by Indians-immigrants or temporary
visitors-in Australia. While 'Kumari', by pioneering
writer Mena Abdullah, reveals racial prejudice in rural Australia, Manik Datar's 'My Sister's
Mother' brings the comedy of cultural difference into play in the setting of a
suburban kitchen.
Thoughtful, exploratory and often just wide-eyed in
its observation of strange new worlds, the anthology provides insights into an
array of fascinating cross-cultural encounters-emotional, physical and
spiritual-between Australia and India over the past century and a half.
Introduction
THE STORIES IN THIS ANTHOLOGY show a variety of
encounters-mental, physical and spiritual-of Australians with India over the
past century and a half. Readers of these stories will engage with human dramas
which reveal a fascinating range of cross-cultural encounters and emotional
responses to them. Many of these stories go beyond a mere touristic interest in
India and reveal interesting observations and insights within the narrative
frames chosen by their authors.
Twenty-first century Australians like to see
themselves as developing a special relationship with countries of the
Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Yet the stories in this volume trace a chequered
history of human interactions with India, ranging from bewilderment and anxiety
to humour and happiness. Despite their shared history of British imperial
ambition and positive legacies such as the English language, democratic
institutions and the inestimable game of cricket, Australians and Indians know
very little about each other's literature. This selection of stories attempts
to fill part of that gap by showing a range of Australian responses to India.
Perhaps it will stimulate a later volume of Indian literary responses to
Australia.
Cross-cultural narratives come from
nineteenth-century writers as well as from more contemporary Australians. John
Lang's 'The Mohammedan Mother', for instance, was published in 1859 and shows
the quality of an Indian woman's love for her husband and child that verges on
'devotional'. Described by CO. Narasimhaiah as 'the
first Australian-born novelist on Indian soil', Lang lived for many years in
India and edited a newspaper, Mojussilite, in
Meerut. As he thinks about an Indian woman to whom he is attracted, Lang's
narrator exhibits an understanding of the woman's psyche, her devotional and
sacrificial nature. The outsider's insight may reveal as much about himself as
about the' other'.
Another nineteenth-century Australian author to show
a special interest in India was Alfred Deakin. Deakin visited India in the early 1890s, before rising to
prominence as Australia's second prime minister. Deakin's
graphic description of ' irrigated India', with its focus on the physical and
spiritual value of water in dry countries together with his later statements
about the need for dialogue between Australian and Indian thinkers in
universities, retains its prophetic force a century later.
The charm and fascination
that Indian folklore can hold for an Australian reader or listener is evident
in several stories in this volume. In Mary C. Elkington's
'The Soul of the Melon Man' (I 908),
for instance, her character Mrs Seymour listens closely to the narrative of her
Ayah, which epitomizes the value of renunciation-a virtue often seen as central
to Indian philosophical thought. A different twist is given to traditional
tales in Sri Lanka-born Australian author Yasmine Goonerarne's story 'Masterpiece'. This story, based on a
tale Gooneratne had heard on a train trip from New
Delhi to Hyderabad in 1995, presents a clash between the 'modern' egalitarian
expectations of Australians and traditional Indian notions of the 'genius' of a
poet. With consummate skill, Gooneratne (who has
researched and published on Jane Austen), creates an amusing comedy of
competing cultural styles, values and issues.
There is no space in this Introduction to introduce
the reader to the full range of interests and literary qualities represented in
this anthology. But we can point to some recurring interests and concerns.
Prominent among these are the stories of Australian visitors to India who
encounter not only physical hardships, but also challenges to their image of
themselves as democratic and egalitarian (eg. Clark,
Koch). On the other hand, David Maloufs
autobiographical essay-story 'A Foot in the Stream' reveals a relaxed, liberal
and democratic attitude and a certain awe as the
narrator observes the patience of Indian crowds. Humour is introduced in Dal Stivens's cricket story 'The
Strange Business at Bombay and Madras'. The story reveals cricketers and
commentators on the great game to be 'spinners' in more ways than one.
A number of stories in this book cluster around the
figure of the guru, indicating an Australian fascination with this figure. The
role of gurus (and sometimes sadhus, or holy men) as
enunciators of Indian philosophy and expounders of Indian texts is widely
accepted and respected in India, but their role as spiritual guides and
instruments of liberation is questioned by many Hindus. For the outsider, the
guru is often fore grounded as a marker of Hinduism,
especially in an age when yoga has acquired followers a poetic transcendence
through yoga of what could otherwise have been a superficial touristic
experience. Satendra and an, a Fiji-born Australian,
provides a contrasting comic perspective on his schoolteacher guru. Geoffrey Bewley's story 'Passage from India'
offers both perspectives-the adulation of a true believer and the ironic
scepticism of an Australian male who sees the guru's influence destroying his
marriage.
This collection also contains stories about Indians
in Australia-as immigrants, or temporary visitors. Mena Abdullah deserves
special notice as a pioneer writer of Indian descent. She was born in Australia
in 1930, the daughter of a Punjabi man who had arrived in Australia in the
1880s. Mena was brought up on a farm in New South Wales. In 'Kumari', the narrator describes herself as 'a dark girl in
a white man's country, a Punjabi Muslim in a Christian country'. The incidents
depicted in this story tell of racial prejudice in rural Australia as well as
compassionate Australians who care for the newcomers. The story reveals the
attempt by members of the narrator's family to keep the culture of their
homeland alive, together with the pleasures and perils of attempting to do
this. Mena Abdullah's tale of an upbringing in rural Australia has its
counterpart in stories by urban or suburban Indians in Australia in the late
twentieth or early twenty-first century, including Sujatha
Fernandes and Manik Datar. In her delightful story 'My Sister's Mother', Manik Datar brings the comedy of
cultural difference into play within the setting of a suburban kitchen.
The stories in this anthology, including those not
mentioned in this Introduction, display a variety of literary responses to the
interaction of Australians and Indians since the mid-nineteenth century. In
these stories, we see Australian writers grappling with Indian realities and
the literary forms with which to engage them. We also see the early stages of
an Indian diaspora engaging with the geography and
culture of Australia. Of Sadhus and
Spinners: Australian Encounters with India offers both literary interest
and new perspectives on a changing world of which Australian- Indian relations
are a vital part. We believe that the stories in this book will give further
depth to a bilateral relationship which is set to thrive in the early
twenty-first century.
Contents
Introduction |
vii |
|
1. |
The Mohammedan Mother |
1 |
2. |
Our Nearest Great Country |
18 |
3. |
The Soul of the Melon Man |
22 |
4. |
My Friend, the Maharajah |
26 |
5. |
Black and White |
31 |
6. |
The Khyber Pass and a Kidnapping |
36 |
7. |
A Democrat on the Ganges |
47 |
8. |
Mrs James Greene |
55 |
9. |
Kumari |
82 |
10 |
Sadhus and Sahibs |
89 |
11. |
The
Clothesline in the Himalayas |
99 |
12. |
Meeting
Mister Ghosh |
102 |
13. |
The
Elephant Stop |
111 |
14. |
The
Strange Business at Bombay and Madras |
115 |
15. |
Passage
from India |
126 |
16. |
A Foot in
the Stream |
142 |
17. |
The Guru |
149 |
18. |
Monsoon |
159 |
19. |
Maisie Goes to India |
166 |
20. |
My
Sister's Mother |
183 |
21. |
A Pocket
Full of Stories |
187 |
22. |
Masterpiece
|
192 |
Notes on Contributors |
199 |
|
Notes on Editors |
203 |
|
Copyright Acknowledgments |
204 |
About the Book
Despite a 'shared history of British
imperialism, and commonalities like the English language, a democratic polity
and a craze for cricket, Australians and Indians know very little about each
other. Of
Sadhus and Spinners attempts to correct this with a range of stories that trace the
chequered history of interactions between the two nations.
From John Lang's 'The Mohammedan Mother' (1859) to Yasmine Gooneratne's
'Masterpiece' (2002), the stories in this anthology foreground a variety of
literary responses to Indo-Australian encounters. There are stories here of
Australian visitors to India who face not only physical hardships but also
challenges to their image of themselves as democratic and egalitarian, and
tales that indicate the Australian's fascination with the figure of the guru.
Also included are stories about and by Indians-immigrants or temporary
visitors-in Australia. While 'Kumari', by pioneering
writer Mena Abdullah, reveals racial prejudice in rural Australia, Manik Datar's 'My Sister's
Mother' brings the comedy of cultural difference into play in the setting of a
suburban kitchen.
Thoughtful, exploratory and often just wide-eyed in
its observation of strange new worlds, the anthology provides insights into an
array of fascinating cross-cultural encounters-emotional, physical and
spiritual-between Australia and India over the past century and a half.
Introduction
THE STORIES IN THIS ANTHOLOGY show a variety of
encounters-mental, physical and spiritual-of Australians with India over the
past century and a half. Readers of these stories will engage with human dramas
which reveal a fascinating range of cross-cultural encounters and emotional
responses to them. Many of these stories go beyond a mere touristic interest in
India and reveal interesting observations and insights within the narrative
frames chosen by their authors.
Twenty-first century Australians like to see
themselves as developing a special relationship with countries of the
Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Yet the stories in this volume trace a chequered
history of human interactions with India, ranging from bewilderment and anxiety
to humour and happiness. Despite their shared history of British imperial
ambition and positive legacies such as the English language, democratic
institutions and the inestimable game of cricket, Australians and Indians know
very little about each other's literature. This selection of stories attempts
to fill part of that gap by showing a range of Australian responses to India.
Perhaps it will stimulate a later volume of Indian literary responses to
Australia.
Cross-cultural narratives come from
nineteenth-century writers as well as from more contemporary Australians. John
Lang's 'The Mohammedan Mother', for instance, was published in 1859 and shows
the quality of an Indian woman's love for her husband and child that verges on
'devotional'. Described by CO. Narasimhaiah as 'the
first Australian-born novelist on Indian soil', Lang lived for many years in
India and edited a newspaper, Mojussilite, in
Meerut. As he thinks about an Indian woman to whom he is attracted, Lang's
narrator exhibits an understanding of the woman's psyche, her devotional and
sacrificial nature. The outsider's insight may reveal as much about himself as
about the' other'.
Another nineteenth-century Australian author to show
a special interest in India was Alfred Deakin. Deakin visited India in the early 1890s, before rising to
prominence as Australia's second prime minister. Deakin's
graphic description of ' irrigated India', with its focus on the physical and
spiritual value of water in dry countries together with his later statements
about the need for dialogue between Australian and Indian thinkers in
universities, retains its prophetic force a century later.
The charm and fascination
that Indian folklore can hold for an Australian reader or listener is evident
in several stories in this volume. In Mary C. Elkington's
'The Soul of the Melon Man' (I 908),
for instance, her character Mrs Seymour listens closely to the narrative of her
Ayah, which epitomizes the value of renunciation-a virtue often seen as central
to Indian philosophical thought. A different twist is given to traditional
tales in Sri Lanka-born Australian author Yasmine Goonerarne's story 'Masterpiece'. This story, based on a
tale Gooneratne had heard on a train trip from New
Delhi to Hyderabad in 1995, presents a clash between the 'modern' egalitarian
expectations of Australians and traditional Indian notions of the 'genius' of a
poet. With consummate skill, Gooneratne (who has
researched and published on Jane Austen), creates an amusing comedy of
competing cultural styles, values and issues.
There is no space in this Introduction to introduce
the reader to the full range of interests and literary qualities represented in
this anthology. But we can point to some recurring interests and concerns.
Prominent among these are the stories of Australian visitors to India who
encounter not only physical hardships, but also challenges to their image of
themselves as democratic and egalitarian (eg. Clark,
Koch). On the other hand, David Maloufs
autobiographical essay-story 'A Foot in the Stream' reveals a relaxed, liberal
and democratic attitude and a certain awe as the
narrator observes the patience of Indian crowds. Humour is introduced in Dal Stivens's cricket story 'The
Strange Business at Bombay and Madras'. The story reveals cricketers and
commentators on the great game to be 'spinners' in more ways than one.
A number of stories in this book cluster around the
figure of the guru, indicating an Australian fascination with this figure. The
role of gurus (and sometimes sadhus, or holy men) as
enunciators of Indian philosophy and expounders of Indian texts is widely
accepted and respected in India, but their role as spiritual guides and
instruments of liberation is questioned by many Hindus. For the outsider, the
guru is often fore grounded as a marker of Hinduism,
especially in an age when yoga has acquired followers a poetic transcendence
through yoga of what could otherwise have been a superficial touristic
experience. Satendra and an, a Fiji-born Australian,
provides a contrasting comic perspective on his schoolteacher guru. Geoffrey Bewley's story 'Passage from India'
offers both perspectives-the adulation of a true believer and the ironic
scepticism of an Australian male who sees the guru's influence destroying his
marriage.
This collection also contains stories about Indians
in Australia-as immigrants, or temporary visitors. Mena Abdullah deserves
special notice as a pioneer writer of Indian descent. She was born in Australia
in 1930, the daughter of a Punjabi man who had arrived in Australia in the
1880s. Mena was brought up on a farm in New South Wales. In 'Kumari', the narrator describes herself as 'a dark girl in
a white man's country, a Punjabi Muslim in a Christian country'. The incidents
depicted in this story tell of racial prejudice in rural Australia as well as
compassionate Australians who care for the newcomers. The story reveals the
attempt by members of the narrator's family to keep the culture of their
homeland alive, together with the pleasures and perils of attempting to do
this. Mena Abdullah's tale of an upbringing in rural Australia has its
counterpart in stories by urban or suburban Indians in Australia in the late
twentieth or early twenty-first century, including Sujatha
Fernandes and Manik Datar. In her delightful story 'My Sister's Mother', Manik Datar brings the comedy of
cultural difference into play within the setting of a suburban kitchen.
The stories in this anthology, including those not
mentioned in this Introduction, display a variety of literary responses to the
interaction of Australians and Indians since the mid-nineteenth century. In
these stories, we see Australian writers grappling with Indian realities and
the literary forms with which to engage them. We also see the early stages of
an Indian diaspora engaging with the geography and
culture of Australia. Of Sadhus and
Spinners: Australian Encounters with India offers both literary interest
and new perspectives on a changing world of which Australian- Indian relations
are a vital part. We believe that the stories in this book will give further
depth to a bilateral relationship which is set to thrive in the early
twenty-first century.
Contents
Introduction |
vii |
|
1. |
The Mohammedan Mother |
1 |
2. |
Our Nearest Great Country |
18 |
3. |
The Soul of the Melon Man |
22 |
4. |
My Friend, the Maharajah |
26 |
5. |
Black and White |
31 |
6. |
The Khyber Pass and a Kidnapping |
36 |
7. |
A Democrat on the Ganges |
47 |
8. |
Mrs James Greene |
55 |
9. |
Kumari |
82 |
10 |
Sadhus and Sahibs |
89 |
11. |
The
Clothesline in the Himalayas |
99 |
12. |
Meeting
Mister Ghosh |
102 |
13. |
The
Elephant Stop |
111 |
14. |
The
Strange Business at Bombay and Madras |
115 |
15. |
Passage
from India |
126 |
16. |
A Foot in
the Stream |
142 |
17. |
The Guru |
149 |
18. |
Monsoon |
159 |
19. |
Maisie Goes to India |
166 |
20. |
My
Sister's Mother |
183 |
21. |
A Pocket
Full of Stories |
187 |
22. |
Masterpiece
|
192 |
Notes on Contributors |
199 |
|
Notes on Editors |
203 |
|
Copyright Acknowledgments |
204 |