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12 - Chapter 2
12 - Chapter 2
Brief biographical sketches of Scott and Kalki are drawn and their formative
personalities,
Hence an attempt here is made to point out the important events in the lives of Scott and
Scott was a product of the eighteenth century as well as the romantic nineteenth
whereas Kalki was a product of twentieth century. Scott was very much influenced by
the Romantic Age which laid its stress on imagination that helped him in bringing out his
and was very much influenced by the Freedom Movement. The French Revolution had a
profound influence on Scott. Kalki was a freedom fighter and |>lunged himself into the
Freedom Struggle under the spell of Mahatma Gandhi. Like Kalki Scott served for
sometime in the volunteer force of light cavalry formed in the wake of fears of a French
invasion and “flunged himself into all his military duties with enormous zest, (Johnson,
1: 131-132). Though Kalki, like Scott, did not exhibit any military spirit, he was bold
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and fearless. Scott absorbed the influences of his native Scotland, Percy’s Reliques of
Ancient poetry, the Gothic Romances, Spenser’s Faerie Queen, Tasso’s romances, the
Scottish School of Speculative History and the literary trends of the Romantic Age.
Percy’s Reliques was notable for its influence on Scott. (Johnson 1: 54). Likewise Kalki
felt the impact of the French and the British novelists including Scott and a wide range of
books and journals, particularly those relating to nationalism and social reformation.
Like Kalki, Scott was interested in the classical epic. The epics must have made a
powerful impact on Scott who, even as a boy, was quite eager to hear and tell stories.
(Fiske.1-3) Scott’s interest in history was mainly derived from two sources. The first was
the growing enthusiasm during his own day for the Middle Ages and the second was an
antiquarian interest which had been awakened and developed in the preceding century.
“Scott drew not only from the formal historians but from an enormous lore in chronicles,
chapbooks, Elizabethan ballads, and plays. (Johnson.: 755) Likewise Kalki’s interest in
history was derived from the works of eminent historians such as K.A. Nilakanta Sastri’s
heart love for his Motherland, Tamil culture and past glories of Tamil Nadu and India.
Both Scott and Kalki came under the influence of the intellectual, social, religious,
political, nationalistic forces and the cultural background of their respective countries.
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Sir Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh on 15th August 1771. His father was a
respected solicitor. His mother, the daughter of a well - known medical Professor of
Edinburgh University, had brains and character, and it is tempting to believe that from
her Scott inherited the ability which put him for a time at the very top of the tree. He had
As a child he was a voracious reader and avid listener to tales and legends,
particularly those of his native Scotland. So he was called ‘the glutton of books’ as
Kalki. His copious reading was stored in a retentive memory and used to advantage in
his writings; and his interest in folk-lore led to his collection and publication of Scottish
ballads. When Scott was sick he was sent of to his grandfather’s farm at Sandyknowe,
some forty miles from the capital, where he made contact with the strongest of all the
formative elements that were later to mould his work the oral tradition of the Borders
aftermath; from servants and laborers, the songs and ballads that
were still alive on the lips of the people. In later life he was to draw
published songs: but his first introduction to such material was oral
and he never lost the sense of popular tradition as being not simply a
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about his childhood days and his contact with the persons who
Scott had much talk with a veteran of the German war one Dalgetty
The chief enjoyment of his holidays was to escape with a chosen friend, who had
the same taste with himself, and alternately to react to each other such wild adventures as
they were abler to devise. They used to select, for the scenes of their indulgence, long
walks through the solitary and romantic environs of Arthur’s Seat, Salisbury Crags, Braid
Hills, and similar places in the vicinity of Edinburgh; and the recollection of those
holidays still forms an oasis in the pilgrimage which he had to look back
When Scott was fifteen years old he delved deep into the studies of romances, old
When boyhood advancing into youth required more serious studies and
chivalry, and the ponderous folios of Cyrus and Cassandra, down to the
most approved works of later times. I was plunged into this great ocean of
reading without compass or pilot; and unless when some one had the
charity to play at chess with me, I was allowed to do nothing save read,
believe I read almost all the romances, old plays, and epic poetry, in that
for the task in which it has been my lot to be so much employed... Time as
strength, to a degree which had never been expected or hoped for. The
Claire Lamont says that ‘Highland’ and ‘Jacobite’ were linked in Scott’s mind:
“from childhood, through his father’s friend and client Alexander Stewart of Invernahyle,
Argyllshire. Invernahyle had been out in both the ‘15 and ‘45, and he thrilled the young
Scott with tales of Jacobites. Scott many times pays tribute to him ‘whose tales were the
and mirrored it in his writings. His father Ramaswamy Ayyar was the
the epics and puranas every evening to the villagers. The child
Krishnamurthy was one among them who listened to the discourses with
rapt attention. His mother Thyalnayaki was noted for her frugality [17].
Kalki was very much influenced by his father whereas Scott was very influenced
by his mother Anne Rutherford during their infant days. Kalki as a boy was frail and
weak like Scott. Kalki was taught by Ayyaswamy Ayyar who was considered to be
Kalki’s guru (worshipful teacher). He was taught tales of heroism and selfless service for
the welfare of humanity. He was made proud of the cultural heritage of India. Kalki was
greatly indebted to his guru and expressed his gratitude. “My guru moulded my character
when I was five years of age... If I am a writer now, and that too the kind of writer I am,
I owe it to him. I salute him with gratitude and reverence” [Sunda: 19]
Mission continued his spiritual influence on Kalki throughout his life. Rundrananda says
about Kalki: “Kalki was a brilliant student. He was given a prize on the occasion of the
celebration of coronation day of George V for his first place in the Ramayana
17
Another friend Subramaniam, an architect, offered his moral support to Kalki whenever
Like Scott Kalki had read and re-read all the fine books in Tamil and English,
which his guru had collected over the years and preserved in his home library. Kalki had
learnt by heart all those books. In addition to that Kalki collected a number of novels in
English “which apart from entertaining him and evoking his admiration, might have
aroused in his mind the aspiration to be a writer.”[Sunda: 21]. It is quite possible that
Kalki who was ‘a glutton of books’ in his youth might have read and been inspired by the
Indian writers who wrote historical novels in English such as the Times of Yore (1855)
(1903), Sridar Jogendra Singh’s Nur Jahan (1903), A.Madhavaiah’s Clarinda(1915), A.S.
Panchapakesa Ayyar’s Baladitya (1930) and Three men of Destiny (1938), S.Gopalan’s
Old Tanjore (1938) and Bankim Chandra’s historical novels translated into Tamil. There
is no reference in Sunda’s biography to show that Kalki had read the historical novels
written in English. The only models therefore must have been the novels in English,
especially those of Walter Scott. But, as Meenakshi Mukherjee has observed, though
“the influence of Sir Walter Scott is often cited as important in shaping the historical
novel in India... On a closer examination Scott’s influence turns out to be much less than
The poetic and prose romances and epics that flourished in the Middle Ages and
earlier periods also influenced Kalki. According to Taninayagain the publication of “the
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historical works and the literary works of the carikam period and the great Tamil served
Like Scott Kalki also frequented the public library in the city to peruse a wider
range of books and journals, particularly those relating to nationalism and social
reformation.
those times (Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas, Walter Scott, Lord Lytton,
Charles Dickens, W.M. Thakeray, Thomas Hardy) and more recent popular
writers (Edgar Wallace and William Reynolds). P.G Wood House, Jerome
[Sriraman, T. xviii],
Tamil Nadu who inculcated the spirit of patriotism and nationalism in the minds of the
people of Tamil Nadu in order to liberate the nation from the shackles of slavery from the
The moment Kalki read the songs of Bharathi aloud, a new and strange
feeling, i.e. the spirit of patriotism surged in his mind. The refrain of one of
the poems, ‘‘Let us worship our motherland with the mantra, Vande
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Mataram” became the mantra of his life from that very day urging him to
dedicate himself to the task of liberating the mother (nation) from the
In January 1921 Kalki left school all of a sudden and joined Mahatma Gandhi’s
reformist views like anti-untouchability and prohibition and was imprisoned thrice in his
life. Like Kalki Scott was also a fighter and a patriot who was the moving force in
1797 when the fear of a Napoleonic invasion seized great Britain. In spite of his crippled
leg he was bold and expert horseman, and apparently was disappointed at not engaging
Both Scott and Kalki emerged as multi-faceted personalities. Scott started his
career Writer to the Signet and grew as poet whereas Kalki started his career as journalist
and grew as a writer of short stories and social novels. In 1786 Scott entered his father’s
office as an apprentice Writer to the Signet. Here he was exposed to bourgeois side of his
inheritance-to money values, worldly ambition and sober calculation. The first step
upwards was taken ftv 1788 when it was decided that he should aim at the very highest
branch of the legal profession-that of advocate, the Scottish equivalent of a barrister. But
Soon Walter was mixing freely with the Edinburgh elite and the social
circle dominated by the younger advocate and the officers of the garrison.
There followed another period of university study, which began with his
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attendance at the class of Civil Law, and he took other classes between
1788 and 1792, including Moral Philosophy from Dugald Stewart. The
good sense and refined sentiment which were Stewart’s supreme values
mingled and contrasted with Scott’s other reading, and the two strands were
present together in his mind all the days of his life [Crawford. :3-4].
Scott early attended a class in German which led directly to his first
Goetz von Berlichingen. During all this period he read omnivorously in the
in the local volunteers. These were the years of Revolutionary war, and the
Parliament Buildings at nine in the morning and hang about till two in the
afternoon, walking the boards, hoping against hope that some Writer to the
Signet would ask him to take part in his case... Walter soon became well
its style, and even its very tone of voice, into his own prose...Though he
turned against his father’s Calvinism, Scott retained to the end the habits of
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diligence fostered by that creed, and the values of rational control and
utilitarianism. His most vivid experiences took place in the world of the
[Crawford: 4-5]
After 1797, Scott’s main interests were work and business. Crawford
the counterpart of his colleagues John Leyden, Joseph Ritson, and C.K.
movement by a type of imagination that was both “romantic” and historical. (Br)
“Der Wilde Jager,” showed that he was alive to fashionable literary influences, and a
meeting with “Monk” Lewis stimulated him to publish a collection of ballads which
finally grew into the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border 2 vols, Kelso, 1802. The
22
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, inspired by the example of Percy’s Reliques, is not by
modern standards, scholarly. There are valuable discursive notes. Nonetheless the
Minstrelsy confirmed Scott’s bent towards the historic past, and it established his
Scott won his first recognition as a poet in 1805with his first original work. The
Lav of the Last Minstrel and became a major literary figure in England with Marmion
(1808) and The Lady of the Lake (1810). The success of The Lady of the Lake, Scott
claimed, encouraged him to attempt, ‘something of the same kind in prose.’ [W.General
Preface.: 351]. The moment Byron sprang into sudden fame with his Child Harold, Scott
recognized the superiority of his rival, and decided to give up verse-making since Byron
had beaten him at his own game. He now became a story-teller in prose, using the same
fount of inspiration. During his poetic career Scott completed two major works of
reputation for a professional scholar. On the other hand. Kalki began his journalistic
career as a sub-editor in ‘Navasakti’ in 1923. It was edited by the great Tamil scholar
Kalki left ‘Navasakti’ in 1928 to join Rajaji’s ashram in Tiruchengode but at the
same time he also started writing for ‘Ananda Vikatan’. The editor of Ananda Vikatan,
S.S.Vasan spotted the prodigious talent for witty and humorous writing that lay in Kalki
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and accepted to publish his first article under the name Kalki in 1928. From August 1928
onwards he wrote under a pseudonym Kalki. He gave the reason for his pseudonym:
“With the reformatory zeal natural in a young writer. I assumed the role of
much in the manner of Lord Vishnu in his tenth avatar of Kalki.” True to
his creed most of Kalki’s writings were idealistic and purposeful, and they
At the end of 1931 Kalki joined “Ananda Vikatan”, a Tamil weekly and made it
popular by his humorous writings and serialized fiction. On August 15, 1941, six years
before independence Kalki started the new magazine named “Kalki” as the pen name had
by then acquired a halo. “Kalki” was an instant success.[“Sunda 40] Kalki was free to
express his views on natural problems, politics and polemics with the utmost boldness.
Kalki’s style was racy, idiomatic, impressive and elegant. Like Kalki Scott wrote
with felicity and ease. He was wondrous potentate of literature. Kalki’s writings gained
Ayyar and Rasikamani T.K. Chidambaranatha Mudaliar [T.K.C], The latter hailed Kalki
as a genius. Arangarasasn maintains that Kalki’s interest in the Ramayana “was due to his
friendship with Rajaji and T.K Chidambarabatha Mudaliar who threw fresh light on the
aesthetic beauty of the epic and its profundity of meaning, and Kalki was indeed to model
his characters on those of the Ramayana” [147], The guiding spirits behind Kalki’s
Kalki is like a bee sucking honey from flowers. Through his contact with
great persons such as Thiru Vi.Ka, Rajaji and T.K.C during the Freedom
Thiru.Vi.Ka Kalki learnt the chaste Tamil, through Rajaji he learnt the art
of diplomacy and through T.K.C he learnt the art of appreciation and the art
Kalki made his mark as a humorist in his essays or skits which appeared in
“Ananda Vikatan” Kalki wrote a large number of short stories, collected later into nine
volumes, many of them with social reformist intent, though invariably with a touch of
Kalki wrote seven social novels including Amara Tara which was completed by
Kalki’s daughter Anandi after his dealth. The more important of the social novels are
“Kalvanin Katali” (“The Brigand’s love”) “Tyaga Bhoomi”. (The Land of Sacrifice) and
“Kalki began his literary career as a short story writer and his taking to novels was
accidental. His “Kalvanin Katali” was intended originally as a film script with dramatic
scenes and situations. When it could not be produced as a film, Kalki published it as a
novel”(147).Sunda observes:
emergence as “the rising sun in the Tamil world of fiction”, in his book,
“Tamil Literature in the 20th century.” This has been echoed and
“Alai Osai”, Kalki’s longest social novel won the Sahitya Akademi award
posthumously in 1956 . Kalki regarded this novel as his best work published serially in
“Kalki”. The background to this novel is provided by the national and international
events between 1930 and 1948: the Salt Satyagraha, the Quit India Movement, World
war II, the August Movement, the history of the Indian National Army India’s
independence, the birth of Pakistan, the disturbances in Hyderabad and Telegana, the
by the struggle for Independence.... All the major cities of India figure
prominently in the novel, and the picture of violence during the partition is
also included. The readers witness Gandhiji’s assassination and its impact.
(Zvelebil:365)
With truth and honesty, Kalki depicted the society of his time in a remarkable
way. K.R. Smivasa Iyangar has paid a tribute to the distinguished service of Kalki: “The
Gandhian age in our national History has been fittingly described as our modern Heroic
26
Age, and Tamil Nadu found in “Kalki” a writer a genius fully equal to the task of
recording both the outer happenings and the inner movements of the heart and mind of
Like Scott Kalki was also a translator. The most important of his translations is
Oru Deyvam” (“A god Among Men”). Other translation included the works of Swami
Vivekananda and Yuva-bharat or the History of the Indian National Movement by Lala
Lajpet Rai.
After ten years of great success as a writer of romances in verse, Scott turned from
the romance in verse to prose fiction, and that he was led to make this change in part
because the original vein which he had opened up was getting exhausted, and in part
because the sudden rise of Byron threatened the supremacy which he had long enjoyed.
(Hudson : 216) His “Rokeby” was to all intents and purposes a novel in verse. In this
work for the first time, as he himself perceived, the interest was made to centre not in
incident but in character, and the chief figures were handled in a way much more suitable
to the medium of prose than that of verse. In “Rokeby”, then, verse was not an aid, but
hindrance, to his powers. The transition from verse to prose was therefore natural. The
reception accorded to “The lady of the Lake” convinced him that there was a large
reading public interested in the Highlands and conceiving that he might turn his own
first-hand knowledge of the Highlands to good account, he ‘threw together’ the opening
chapters of “Waverley”. He did not, however, persevere with this experiment, and the
27
manuscript was thrown aside and forgotten. Then a fresh stimulus came from the Irish
favourable an impression in the poem called “The lady of the Lake” that I
had been a good deal in the Highlands at a time when they were much less
accessible, and much less visited, than they have been of late years, and
was acquainted with many of the old warriors of 1745, who were, like most
veterans, easily induced to fight their battles over again, for the benefit of a
willing listener like myself. It naturally occurred to me, that the ancient
traditions and high spirit of a people, who, living in a civilized age and
mislaid manuscript. The first was the extended and well-merited fame of
Miss Edgeworth, whose Irish characters have gone so far to make the
English familiar with the character of their gay and kind-hearted neighbours
of Ireland, that she may be truly said to have done more towards
completing the Union, than perhaps all the legislative enactments by which
humour, pathetic tenderness, and admirable tact, which pervade the works
own country, of the same kind with that which Miss Edgeworth so
natives to those of the sister kingdom, in a more favourable light than they
had been placed hitherto, and tend to procure sympathy for their virtues and
indulgence for their foibles. I thought also, that much of what I wanted in
which I could lay claim to possess, as having travelled through most parts
of Scotland, both Highland and Lowland, having been familiar with the
elder, as well as more modern race; and having had from my infancy free
But it was not only the triumphs of Miss Edgeworth which worked in me
work which formed a sort of essay piece, and gave me hope that I might in
Like Scott Kalki also narrated the circumstances under which he started writing
his historical novels C.C and P.K. Kalki visited Mahabalipuram, the seaside complex of
cave temples and sculptures, in the summer of 1934, when its quiet beauty had not been
spoilt by trippers. He was accompanied by Rasikamani T.K.C. and the Sastry couple.
29
After a two - day stay, he wrote three descriptive and illustrated articles in the July issues
of “Ananda Vikatan”.
In these articles, Kalki pointed out that the name of the place had nothing to do
with Mahabali, the Asura king and that it was a corruption of Mamallapuram, named
after Mamallan (mighty wrestler), an attributive title of the Pallava King Narasimha, who
completed the sculpture complex begun by his father Mahendra Pallava. Kalki had made
a thorough study of certain books, before his visit to the place. They include:
As a result of his study of such books and what he saw and heard at
Mamallapuram, Kalki, conceived the outlines of C.C. (“The Vow of Sivakami”) and P.K.
(The Dream of Parthiban) Kalki records his experience in his Preface to C.C.:
Rasikamani Sri T.K.C. and two other friends and myself were sitting on the
sands of the seashore. Nobody was there and nobody was seen anywhere -
else on the seashore except us. By that time I thought that on many
occasions I came over to this seashore but I had never felt as a felt today.
All of a sudden thousands and thousands of boats and ships appeared on the
sea. Hundreds of men and women were dancing on the seashore. Sculptors
30
and dancers were there. After sometime all of them appeared in front of
Kamali, Pulikeci and Naganandi and they all remained in my mind’s eye.
We stayed in Mamallapuram for two days and we saw different kinds and
epic. I intend to worship the sculptors who with their chisels chiselled the
piety and devotion to duty. As soon as I completed C.C. and P.K. they all
baid farewell and went away from my mind’s eye after twelve long years.
But their name and fame may remain forever for their contribution to the
About one thousand two hundred years before there were great sculptors
in Tamil Nadu. There were great kings who encouraged them to chisel
marvellous sculptures. Certainly those Tamil people who lived some one
thousand two hundred years before had been men of culture and
thirst for fine arts, disciplined life and good governance in those days (C.C.
Preface: v-viii)
I had heard some people say, “These temples and towers, these structures
over the shrines, these rock-sculptures were all created by the tyranny of the
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kings of those days”. I now came to the conclusion that such a view was
coercion, to get other tasks done; but these miracles of art could never have
arisen because of cruelty; you can force a man to till the field, weave cloth
or pay taxes. But art will never grow through such means. (C.C. Preface :
viii)
countries, Kalki also undertook tours to Ajanta and Ellora caves in Maharashtra and
Sithannavasal in Tamil Nadu which were important locales in the novel C.C. Scott first
visited the Highlands of Scotland at the age of about fifteen when he went to stay with
years. Scott visited Carlisle and Penrith on his tour to the English lakes in 1797, and
Kalki being one of the honorary secretaries of the Tamil Development Association
visited Sri Lanka again in August 1950. He had by then attained greater fame as
journalist and creative writer. He presided over the anniversary celebrations of the
Colombo Tamil Sangam. Kalki set out on an expedition with some knowledgable friends,
to those historical places which fCa.cC once been under the Colas, with a view to
describing them in his P.C. Earlier he had undertaken for the same purpose an extensive
"Ilankai Yatra” was the title of the series of twelve long articles which
Kalki wrote in Ananda Vikatan from its issues dated 5th June, soon after his
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and it has been serving as a model for many a Tamil writer. (Sunda 106).
•dr . ,
Kalki travelled extensively from his home district the partitioned Punjab in the
north, from Calcutta in the east to Karachi and Bombay in the west to absorb the
atmosphere and visual aspects and effect in order to write his novel “Alai Osai”.
“S. Gopalan who was an authority on the history of Cola kingdom accompanied
Kalki when Kalki undertook an extensive tour of Cola land in his country. He expressed
his wonder at the manner with which Kalki was able to transport the readers to scenes of
the past with his magical pen after reading particular portions in P.C.” (Sunda 108).
Kalki also visited Shantiniketan ‘the abode of peace’, founded by Rabindranath Tagore.
Kalki also played a vital role in evolving the pattern of the great work called
fighter and Founder - President of Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya and the Home
Science College, Coimbatore, soon after assuming as Education Minister of Madras State
ft
in 1948. The second volume of alaikalanjiam was dedicated to the memory of Kalki.
A
Kalki was the Founder President of the Tamil Writer association as well as the
President of Kamban association. He worked for protecting the rights of writers and
journalists. According to him nobility, culture and compassion should be reflected in any
was responsible for erecting the monuments for Mahatma Gandhi, Bharati and V.O.
Chidambaram
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Kalki was not a great poet like Scott. But some of the songs on Mahatma
Gandhi, the poet Bharati, the patriotic movement and its fulfilment were
discs by the famous singer M.S. Subbulakshmi. The exact number of his
compositions is not known, but those selected amount to thirty six. These
lyrics are found in a note book written down by Kalki’s daughter Anandi,
Kalki’s emergence as short story writer led him to novel writing whereas Scott’s
emergence as poet led him to prose fiction. With the emergence of Kalki, the Tamil
literary world witnessed the dawn of a new era. With the emergence of Scott as historical
novelist the English literary world witnessed the rise of English novels.
Like Kalki Scott is now considered primarily a historical novelist more than either
poet or scholar after the anonymous publication of W in 1814. Between 1814 and his
death in 1832, Scott completed about thirty novels and novelettes, several long poems, a
Like Scott who was in the very good books of King George IV Kalki was equally
in the very good books of Rajaji, the then first Governor General of India.
ffe
Kalki established the magazine “Kalki” (194IX Kalki Scott founded the
A
Quarterly Review.(1809)
Kalki is a literary colossus like Scott. T.W. Clark includes Kalki among ‘ the most
famous’ novelists in regional languages whose “works will, when adequately translated,
bear comparison with those many of the novelists of other nations.” (9)
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Vikraman has dedicated his novel “Nantipurathu Nayaki” to the memory of Kalki.
Manisekaran says P.C. is India’s biggest novel. Its uniqueness lies not only in its
heaviness but also in its quality and asserts that it will remain unparalled among the
P.C. is his “monumental work” (qtd Sunda 736). Sunda praises its depth and breadth
(731). This voluminous work of Kalki has been rendered into English by C.V. Karthik
Narayanan,.
Scott’s novels had been translated into many languages. Scott was the source of
Thackeray, Nicholas Wiseman, John Henry Newman, George Eliot, Mrs. Gaskill, Hardy
and others to write historical novels. Like Scott Kalki was also the source of inspiration
Rajendran. They exercised their historical imagination on the whole history of Tamil
responsible for its renaissance in all its art forms. If Bharati captivated the
heart of Tamilians by his simple yet majestic poetry Kalki enslaved the
hearts of millions by his simple prose laced with humour. He cultivated the
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Most commentators have praised Scott the man even when they condemned Scott
Scott’s merits as man and writer entitle him to a position much nearer his
former reputation than he now holds. One of his admirers called him a
creating comic characters and his broad view of human nature in all walks
of life. He was greatly admired by Balzac and Dumas : and, wise critics
from Goethe to the present have been impressed with his humane wisdom