Review: Inside the Haveli

Review: Inside the Haveli

            Indian English literature is a veritable mirror to the Indian psyche and Indian tradition. Along with this, the life and culture of this sub-continent is studied deeply. Indian English fiction is an important genre that has flourished and has come to be recognized as an important source of information on Indian people and their culture. At the same time it has come to be seen as an expression of Indian sensibility. Socio-political life, history, culture, rural life etc are the major themes and views studied candidly and accurately by several Indian English fiction writers. Rama Mehta’s Inside the Haveli is not an exception to these features.

            Born and brought up by progressive-minded parents, Rama Mehta (1923-1978) had access to good education in Nainital. Later, she studied at the universities of Lucknow and Delhi and received her MA degree in philosophy. One of the first women to be appointed to the prestigious Indian Foreign Service, Rama Mehta was forced to resign her position as a diplomat when she married Jagat Mehta, himself a member of the diplomatic cadre. Later, she concentrated on sociology. She documented and identified many hidden, silent aspects of Indian family values and tradition. Rama Mehta was twice a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Independent Study, Harvard. Here she framed the theoretical premise for her several sociological studies. Catherine Atwater Galbraith, Rama Mehta’s co-author for the informative volume, India: Now and Through Time pays her a rich tribute:

Rama Mehta was at home in New Delhi as she was in the seclusion of the haveli in Udaipur – or in Peking, Dar-es-Salaam, or Harvard. Traditional values and social change, especially for Indian women, were her passionate concern. Three hours of her company would pass in a moment, brightened by her whole-hearted enjoyment of discussion, her sharp comments, her laughter and wit. (Galbraith and Rama Mehta 7)

By the time Rama Mehta died in 1978, she had written in a variety of genres: children’s stories, novels, academic essays, sociological studies, journalistic pieces. In most of her sociological studies and academic books, Rama Mehta examined carefully and accurately the Indian woman’s private and domestic world. Rama Mehta’s academic books include The Western Educated Indian Woman (1970), The Divorced Hindu Woman (1975), and India: Now and Through Time (co-author) (1971). Her works of fiction for children are Ramu and Life of Keshav.

            Inside the Haveli (1977) is Rama Mehta’s only novel for adult readers. The novel won the Sahitya Academy Award in 1979 and was appreciated by established critics such as Srinivasa Iyengar:

Inside the Haveli is a sensitive piece of realistic fiction, even an authentic sociological study, and it is written with a naturalness and poise that are disarming and effective at once. The evocation of scene, character and especially of atmosphere is almost uncanny….. The balance between repose and movement is well sustained, there is tension but no cheap sex, there is tension but no violence, and there is a feeling for the values and varieties. (Iyengar 753)

Rama Mehta’s Inside the Haveli is actually a fictionalized version of her academic research book The Western Educated Indian Woman. Indeed, the novel and the non-fictional book contain common views regarding the issues of Indian women’s relation to tradition and modernity. Z N Patil examined the whole work as a sociological case study by presenting a number of taboos that governed the haveli.

            ‘Haveli’ is a term which has deep roots in the tradition and life of Rajasthan. The origin of the word is Persian and means “a surrounded or enclosed place”. Architecturally havelis were built according to a basic organization of residential rooms around open courtyards. More courtyards and rooms were added as a family grew in size or prospered economically. A typical haveli has separate courtyards for men, women and servants. As the domestic life was effectively concealed from public view in a haveli, architectural and social barriers screened the activities of the men’s and women’s quarters. Family members and relatives met each other according to various traditional codes of conduct and speech.

            Rama Mehta presents a vivid picture of a tradition-bound haveli in Udaipur – Jeewan Niwas. The author, who herself had experienced the restricted, traditional atmosphere of Udaipur – the family home of Jagat Mehta –picturesquely depicts the life in a Rajasthani haveli. The joys and sorrows and the beliefs and superstitions inside the haveli is minutely portrayed. The life inside the haveli is presented candidly with the clarity of a documentary, but the gentle flow of the story is not at all affected by this accurate presentation.

            Udipur which was once the capital of the State of Mewar is the background of the story. Even though, mow it is just a town like many others in Rajasthan, the Lake Pichola, the hill of Sajjangarh, the palace and the havelis make the town a grand one. Sangram Singhji’s haveli – the Jeewan Niwas – is one of the havelis in Udaipur which still bear the feudal glory and preserve the customs and traditions. Geeta, an educated, lively and spontaneous Bombay girl enters this haveli as a bride. She finds the life in Purdah in her husband, Ajay’s ancestral haveli suffocating. The women in the havelis declare her an outsider: She will never adjust. She is not one of us.(29) Ajay, a Professor of Science in Udaipur University comforts and tells his wife about his plan to get a job in Delhi. So Geeta finds solace in the belief that the life in Udaipur is only temporary. But such a hope soon withers away. However Geeta gradually starts to admire the great tradition provided by the haveli. At last she accepts the warmth of tradition and the affection of the people in the haveli. The love, care and concern she experienced in the haveli makes her appreciate and accept the life in the tradition-bound haveli:

…..Geeta no longer felt trapped in the haveli….. She had seen the value of kinship ties and wanted to preserve the ancestral dignity of the haveli. (178)

Geeta’s modern thoughts and progressive views, for which she has struggled earlier, are still there. It is through this struggle Geeta has obtained the two important approvals from the conservative family of her husband. Those approvals are – right of the girl for education irrespective of her class distinction and right of the mother to have a decision  in the marriage of her daughter, especially to prevent  a child marriage which has a high approval of tradition. But these victories never prompt her to underestimate the traditions of the haveli or the conservative people. Instead Geeta’s adaptability, compromise and forbearance help to resolve the conflict between tradition and modernity. The concern and care of her husband and his relatives also help her to acquire this amalgamation. With this adaptability and compromise, Geeta appreciates the life in the haveli, adjusts herself and become, finally, its mistress.

            After the death of Bhagwat Singhji, his son, Ajay becomes he master of the haveli and Geeta, the new mistress. The novel ends here with a promise that the new mistress will bring out a harmony between tradition and modernity. She will preserve the good traditional concepts and accept modern values when it is necessary. (Rama Mehta’s narration and Geeta’s search for identity in the conservative haveli thus concludes with this positive and hopeful idea though the death of Bhagwat Singhji and the widows attire of his wife draw  sympathy and produce tears even in the eyes of the readers who are actually involved in the journey of Geeta through inside the haveli.)  

            Inside the Haveli also presents the lives of certain other characters also other than the life of Geeta. In order to project certain issues the novelist creates certain well chosen characters with meticulous care. Pari, Lakshmi, Manji, Nandu etc are the excellent examples of Rama Mehta’s striking characterization. While lives of Pari and Manji portray the sorrowful life of a widow, Lakshmi’s life presents the tragedy of patriarchal notions. Lakshmi, the maid servant is unfairly accused of adultery by her husband and she has to flee from the conservative haveli. But most unfortunately she ends up in dangerous situations and becomes an ill-reputed woman. (Lakshmi, the maid and her daughter, Sita are given an important place in the novel along with the protagonist, Geeta and her daughter, Vijay. In the beginning of the novel, Geeta and Lakshmi are in child birth. The novel progresses with the lives and struggles of these two women. In the concluding section of the novel, their daughters, Vijay and Sita are once again become the center of discussion in matters related to education and marriage.)

Apart from the protagonist’s adaptability, search for identity and silent transformation the novel Inside the Haveli also brings out certain carefully illustrated themes and views. Rama Mehta’s treatment of the plot at the same time becomes literal, sociological and metaphorical. If we make a journey through Rama Mehta’s Inside the Haveli we will come across several interesting facts and approaches that are thought-provoking. The sociologist-cum-novelist, Rama Mehta, not merely presented the details of a traditional haveli where Geeta’s small adventures would unfold. Inside the Haveli also provides different interesting accounts regarding the gender, class and tradition prevalent in the haveli.

Even though, the novelist illustrates a complete picture of the aristocratic haveli which itself has all the features of a strong character, Rama Mehta focuses her constant attention on the women’s apartment. Apart from a few male characters like Bhagewat Singhji, Ajay and the men-servants, major active characters are the women. Most of the time, it is through their perspectives that the story develops. The patriarchal and traditional restrictions are portrayed through the view point of women. But the interesting fact is that these restrictions which prevent the women from carving out an identity for themselves and to live independently, are accepted by the same women as their destiny. The gender problems are presented in the novel with care and accuracy. Child marriage, treatment of female child as a burden, purdah system, ill treatment of widow – almost all of the patriarchal notions and restrictions are present in between the gold and glitter of the haveli. Geeta, the educated, progressive minded daughter-in-law could bring out some kind of awakening to the women’s world, especially to her immediate surroundings. The undercurrent of feminine and feminist sensibilities can also be viewed throughout the novel. More or less most of the aspects regarding the life and problems of women have been given thorough study in Inside the Haveli.

            The portrayal of class system and the problems is another matter of interest in the content of the novel. The inside of the haveli, Jeewan Niwas, also consists of the servants and maids along with the upper class people. The life and survival of these lower class people is also given a detailed study. Geeta’s observation of the women servants is rich sociological information. Even though the novel presents a definite master-servant relation throughout the plot, sometimes the warmth of the relationship increases. The respect and courtesy shown towards the maid servants, especially to Pariji is indeed valuable. Geeta, the educated, modern girl has to depend on the uneducated low-class maids for survival within the haveli culture. The comparison between Vijay and Sita, Geeta and Lakshmi, Bhagwat Singhji’s wife and Pari etc provide a deep study of the master-servant relationship portrayed in the novel. The education provided by Geeta to Sita and other low-class children and servants brings about emancipation in the servant society. As time passes, the servants are also free from the feudal tradition and oppressions. The novel honestly presents the decline of feudal glory and the emancipation of the servant class with accurate details.

            Customs and traditions are a strong presence in the novel. The central conflict is created by the powerful presence of tradition in the mind of the people in the haveli and modernity brought forward by Geeta. In the novel, the haveli represents Indian tradition and the protagonist, Geeta, who is an educated Bombay girl, represents modernity. The conflict of these two views – tradition and modernity arises from the time of Geeta’s arrival to the tradition-bound, conservative haveli as a bride. Even the reserved women n the haveli considers her as an outsider and suspects her adaptability. The beautiful and metaphorical comparison of the old city and the new city in Udaipur regarding the difference in life and views throws light on the central conflict of tradition and modernity. The traditional women in the haveli equally submit themselves to the patriarchal restrictions also. Geeta finds these restrictions suffocating and her independent and progressive mind introduces several modern concepts like education to girls irrespective of their class distinction. Gradually small changes creep into the haveli. Geeta also undergoes a silent transformation and finds that traditions are not mere chains of slavery passed on by the past generations; they also afford strength, warmth and security. Thus the conflict is resolved by Geeta through her adaptability and with the care and love of her parents-in-law.

            The three major discourses – gender, class and tradition - create a complete study of the novel. The discourse on gender provides a feminist touch to the novel. It focuses on the identity-crisis, patriarchal notions and other gender issues. The second approach, deals with class system portrayed in the novel. Along with the discourse about class, historical facts and changes are also presented. Tradition and its conflict with modernity are also discussed in the novel honestly and accurately. All these discourses are included within the fabric of this fiction. Rama Mehta’s careful observations of the society and her sociological findings give strength and voice to these themes. Though the novel gives the impression and authenticity of a sociological study, Inside the Haveli is also praised for its beautiful framework and narration.) With the value and help of all these thematic features the novel, Inside the Haveli stands out as a great pillar in the haveli of Indian English fiction.