India Through a Traveller’s Eye
India Through a Traveller’s Eye : Pearl s. Buck (1892-1973), American by birth was reared in china by her missionary parents. She taught in Chinese University. INDIA THROUGH A Traveller’s EYE
Everybody knows her for her travelogue and memoirs. She wrote personal accounts of her visits to different countries in simple, lucid and effortless English. In 1938 , she won the Nobel Prize for literature .
Her valuable works are The God’s Earth (1931). a novel on China and come, My Beloved’ with India as background. The present piece ‘India through a Traveler’s eyes is an extract from my several worlds, which is a personal record of he life. It shows her love for the poorest people living in Indian villages.
INDIA THROUGH A Traveller’s EYES SUMMARY IN ENGLISH
Fascination for India
Since her childhood the writer had a fascination for India. Her Indian family doctor and his wife had told her about India. She had read all she could about India. India Through A Travelleer’s Eyes
Colors of India
The word color reminded the writer about the variety of Indian life. Long age the white barbarians from Europe invaded Kashmir. The people of Kashmir have lovely cream-colored skin. They have blue eyes and auburn hair.
All the people of India, whatever be the color of their skin, belong to Caucasian race. She was amazed to see that people of India have gone to live all over the world.
Influence on the world
In the short period after gaining independence India has influenced the world. India has put the knowledge of the west, and ability to speak fine English to good use. The first woman President of the General Assembly of the United Nations was a woman of India.
The in charge of exchange of prisoner in Korea was an Indian general, who won the confidence of all. India’s unyielding idealism has influenced the world.
Purpose of the visit
No doubt, the writer visited several monuments and many places in India, but the purpose of her visit to India was to see and listen to two groups of people-young intellectuals in cities, and the peasants in villages.
The intellectuals ‘view point
The intellectuals in India were embittered and disappointed with England. They believed that the Second World War was sure to break out. They had supported England in the First World War. But in turn England had not kept her promises.
So the intellectual had decided that they would not support England in the Second World War. They were of the view that England had no intention to set India free. So they intended to rebel after the war broke out they forced England to set India free.
But India supported England during the Second World War. It was because they were forced to choose between barbarism and civilization.
They supported civilization England and postponed their plans for freedom. Ultimately England saw reason and set India free, though there was some bloodshed as Churchill had predicted.
India Through a Traveller’s Eye
Gandhi’s contribution
In their struggle for freedom of India, the intellectuals and the peasants were together. Gandhi had realized very early that both peasants and intellectuals were to be won.
He had hold on both peasants and intellectuals were to de won. He had hold on both of them. Besides, He won freedom without bloodshed.
America’s war of independence pales into insignificance in comparison to India’s struggle for freedom. There is a lesson for the world to learn. war and killing achieve nothing. A noble end is attained only if the means are also equally noble.
Unemployment and poverty
There were thousands of educated unemployed youths in towns and cities. The old colonial structure did not allow creation of more jobs except in government service. But the villages were the worst hit. There was utter poverty.
The writer had seen poverty in China, yet she fell the Chinese peasant was richer in comparison to the peasant of India.
The Indian peasant, like the Chinese peasant, was cultured and civilized. His organized family life and philosophical religion had shaped his mind and soul even though he was illiterate.
The little children in the village looked miserable with their thin limbs and big bellies.
Three hundred years of British occupation had reduced them to such miserable condition. It was the result of a government that had lived upon the people, rather than to benefit them.
The life span was just twenty-seven years. That is why Indians married early so that there could be as many children as possible.
Deprived of initiative
The worst result of colonial system was making the people entirely dependent on the government for everything. They had lost enthusiasm and initiative.
The land between Bombay and Madras was desert dry. The water table was quite high. But the people did not have the initiative to dig wells.
Reverence for great men
The writer met many people and observed many things. She noticed that there was reverence for great men and women. A person who was capable of renunciation could continue to be a leader.
A person who was selfless, honest, high minded was trustworthy. Gandhi gave devotion nationally. But even a local person commanded respect if he had these qualities.
India Through a Traveller’s Eye
Impression of an Indian family
The writer stayed with and Indian family in a village. She describes her observations and experiences.
People built the house with mud and polished the floors with a mixture of water and cow dung. The active master of the house was a young brother.
The eldest brother had a paralytic attack. He lay in the front door in sort of cage. He chose to lie in the front room so that he could listen to the people who continually came to see him. Everybody treated him like a saint.
She ate her lunch in the house. The lunch was simple. They served it on a fresh green banana leaves. She used to eat with chopsticks. There she ate, like all others with her right hand.
Before she started eating they offered her water and a clean towel to wash her hands. They told her that they ate with their right hand and used the left hand for lowly tasks.
Her host ate in the opposite corner of the room with back to her. She learned in this way he fulfilled the religious duty of his caste, but did mean any inhospitality.
While the writer was talking to the wife of his host, a gentleman came. He quiet walked to the far end of the room and there he bowed for about a quarter of an hour. He was the elder brother of the host, and came there to pray since his house was a little too far from his place of business.
Come, My beloved
The writer wrote a book ‘come’ My Beloved’ against the background of her visit to India. Most Americans could not appreciate it, but it was no puzzlement to Indian readers. The reason for this was that people in the world do not yet understand that price of achievement is an absolute.
In her back she chose three Christian missionaries. A Christian missionary is a dedicated person. He believes and preaches that God is the one, Father of all mankind and all men are brothers. But she believes he has not paid full price for this faith.
He does not accept the full meaning of his creed. But the people in India know what it is to pay in full the cost of idealism.
Question Answer INDIA THROUGH A TRAVELLER’S EYES
Q.1 Why was the land between Bombay and Madras famished?
Ans: There was no water because there were no wells or any other means to irrigate the land. The insensitivity of the people made the land famished.
Q. 2 Why did the Indian always blame the British for their sufferings?
Ans.- The Indians were blaming the British against their inadequate help in providing food, clothes and other amenities to them(Indian). It is but natural, to expect from the government all these things.
Q. 3 Who was the real master of the house which Buck visited?
Ans.- The real master of the house was the younger brother. The elder brother who had a stroke of paralysis and was lying on the bed.
Q.4 Why did the writer not mind her host eating in the opposite corner of the room?
Ans.- The writer did not mind that her host was eating in the opposite corner of the room, because he(host) had fulfilled the requirement of his religion by eating in the opposite corner of the room. It was his family tradition.
Q. 5 What does she mean by saying “Religion is ever present in Indian life”?
Ans.- The author wanted to express her idea about the role of the religion in Indian life. She cited the example of his fact by narrating whatever she experienced in one Indian family.
While she was sitting in her host’s room, one gentleman came in and without speaking to them moved to the far end of the room.
There he knelt his head bowed and remained in that way for about a quarter of an hour. Her hostess explained that he was her husband’s eldest brother and was offering prayer.
She meant to say that religion was present in every walk of the life of an Indian. It had both the best and the worst aspects. But she did not criticize it.
Q. 6 What are her views on the Christian missionaries?
Ans.- She expresses he views on Christian missionaries that whatever they believe, they preach accordingly. It means that they say whatever they believe.
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