LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP OF EXPATRIATES IN ANITA DESAI'S BYE, BYE BLACKBIRD

Love - Hate Relationship of Expatriates in Anita Desai’s “Bye, Bye Black bird”.

In the present age, the novel has been developed by the rapid changes in social conditions. The novelists were interested in exploring the subconscious of human mind. During the last two centuries many writers followed the psychological theory of Freud and Jung. The novelist and storu writers such as S.K. Ghose, S.M. Mitra Raj, Lakshmi Devi, Kshetrpal Chakarbarty, A.Madhaviab, S.B. Benerjee, Sardar Jogendra Singh, BalKrishna, Sorabjee Cornetia, T. Ramakrishna, and K.S. Venketaramani were the writers who were expreimemnting to provide recognition to the Indo-Anglian fiction.

During the year 1950-70 the next batch of Indo-Anglians like RajaRao, R.K.Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand, Kamala Markandeya, Nayantara Sahal, Anita Desai,Bhabani Bhattacharya, Manohar Malgoankar, Shasthi Bratta,Nirad C. Choudhari and host of others are trying their art of fiction with unlimited and unrestricted theme. The novels of MulkRaj Anand and Bhabani Bhattacharya deal with the themes of social criticism and political emanicipation which are dedicated to India’s quest for freedom from imperialism.

The ancient Indo-English fictions are based on the religious and mythical Indian tradition. It has been successfully presented in the novels of R.K.Narayan, Raja Rao and sudhin Ghose. The psychological and social tensions are obvious in the novels of Anita Desai and Nayantata Sahgal.

Modern Indo-English fiction has now earned worldwide acclaim. It has produced recently a number of literary jewels of the world such as V.S.Naipal, Anita Desai, Jumpa Lahri, Vikram Seth, Arundhati Roy, Shobe de, Salman Rushdie and others. They all write on the same theme. The east and west encounter theme is obvious in the workds of Salman Rushdie. In the contemporary world of fiction, the writers dealt with the various upheavals crippling legacies of colonialism, migration, instances of discrimination and violence, encounters with cultural otherness can cause “inner expropriation of cultural identity”.

Another Indian women novelist Arundhati Roy, the nightingale of India has given the world but one major fictional work, “The God of Small Things”. Among these novelist Anita Desai is the greatest Indian Novelist, short story writer, and screen writer. Throughout her works, she focuses on personal struggle of anglicized, middle class women in contemporary India. As they attempt to overcome the social limitations imposed by tradition bound patriarchal culture.

Her characters feel alienated and exiled. Even if they stay in crowd, they never feel the lack of culture around them. Desai is more interested in the interior world of her protagonist than political and social realities. Her novels deal with ferocious assault of existence.

Desai uses several devices of stream conscious narrative like symbols and imagery. Desai engaged the complexities of modern Indian culture from a feministic perspective in her works while highlighting the female Indian predicament of maintaining self-identity as individual women. “Bye, Bye Black bird” is Anita Desai’s third novel. Alienation at different levels forms the theme of the novel. It explores the lives of the outsiders seeking to forge a new identity in alien society. The novel has been said to be the novel of closest to her personal experience as immigrant. Anita Desai succeeds in her pattern when she shows a character in action. Her revelation of the unconscious threads of human mind gives the structural unity to the novel. She reveals the intense of longing of the exiled hero’s emotion towards his native land. Adit comes to England and marries an English lady Sarah. Having a job and wife, he leads a happy life there. After some time Adit’s friend Dev comes to England for higher education but he does not like the pomp and show of England. Like the other novels of Anita Desai, “Bye, Bye Blackbird” exhibit the living style of England.

England which changes Dev’s Anglophobia extreme fear into an anglophile, he develops a great fascination for the English people. Adit on the other hand becomes nostalgic about his childhood memories and longs intensely for his native country India. Dev hated the ways of the English, now changes and begins to love England and desires to seek his future existence. Sarah is the only character who resigns all claims of being an English girl and submits fully to the wishes of her husband.

Desai’s “Bye, Bye black bird” is mainly concerned with the varied human love-hate relationship. Adit from the beginning of the novel develops attachment to the western way of life, especially to England; but while living in England he shows his repulsion towards the way of European life and particularly of England. Dev comes to England only for his education. As a matter of fact Dev observes the basic distinction of social and educational factors between the east and the west. Dev becomes eager to be an England returned teacher at the same time shows his abhorrence hate to the social system of England. Adit tries to be judicious to the country he inhabits to the country and he exists for his future.

Dev shows his aversion dislike towards men and manners of England; but his stay there for a while intensifies his leanings to the country. Sarah stands for her reconciliatory approach between the east and west. She sacrifices her inhibitive leanings just for the sake of her husband. She outlines a proper and balanced approach to the various groups of human relationship. She proves her respectability as an Indian wife. Adit loves England; Dev loves India; but Sarah swings in between her natural inclination and willing adoption. She willingly resigns all her claims for existence in England and ready to leave England for India with her husband.

The breaking out of war between India and Pakistan once again creates yet another important structure as a whole. The war news makes Adit, nostalgic and awareness in him a desire to be in India. The love of his motherland shakes the hidden dormant sentiments. He decides to come back to his country immediately. There is wrestling inside his mind to leave England or not. Ultimately he listens to the call of his conscience by which he realizes his social responsibility. He knows no more artificial life of England. He candidly confessed to Sarah. Sarah dedicates herself to her husband binds the different threads in the story. Though she has to face problem during the long journey from England to India because of her pregnancy she cherishes limping thought as a wife of Adit. She marries him with expectations to share the best of his mind and spirit; but she gives up her womanly desires and like a traditional Indian wife accepts her fate. She leaves her motherland for the sake of her husband and motherhood.

Dev, another protagonist of Desai’s “Bye, Bye Blackbird” undergoes a convulsive change in his mind. He becomes an instance of contrast. Dev abominated Adit’s mind and prepares himself fully to settle down in England for its luxurious life. Like Goroge Eliot, Desai also leaves her character to grow independently and watches the inner feelings. Author has made the diagnosis of the inner quivering in Adit and Dev for their respective change towards life. Finally, he realizes his social obligations and return back home. He gives up all the pomp and show of a materialistic life. Dev also undergoes metamorphosis in his character and strike a comparison and contrast with Adit in existential pursuits. Thus there is a gradual psychic change in both the characters. The novelist simply justifies Adit’s longing to come back to India due to Pakistan’s attack; but the convulsive change through the war does not convince the reader immediately. Anita Desai herself watches a slow and gradual inhibitive sensibility in Adit. England as a living entity brings forth a slow change in the mind of each character. In his visit to the parental house of Sarah, Dev is attracted by its scenery and calmness. He gives up all his doubts and confusion for his future existence; he derives sensational excitement from all the objects seen in England. The scenes and situations become so enchanting that he realizes:

“Though every step or other paradisiacal walk in his mind as though to imprint it all on his mind as one memorizes a poem”.

The irony of the novel is that Adit, the Indian with comfortable job, English wife, fully feels at home in his adopted country. By the end of the novel Adit decides to leave England for good to India with his English wife, and Dev who has been critical of English and England, decides to stay back in England. The novel touches the racial problem and feeling in England. It is not simply white man’s burden but also the feeling of superiority by virtue of their being rules over us.

Expatriation and the problems and complexities prevalent in the life of expatriates have merged as a major theme in the novels of 20th century authors, crossing the barriers of caste, creed and nationality. The authors have been articulate enough in narrating the complexities of life of immigrants. Another author in the series of Anita Desai, who dives deep in the unconscious and sub-conscious psyche of the expatriates and their nausea, nostalgia and longing ness to their native land. Her depiction of characters and situation is not one sided and her protagonists seem to be cherishing a strange love hate relationship with the end of their adoption with great precision brilliance. Adit weighing the merits and demerits of foreign land, but at the end of the novel he comes with a conclusion when his English self was receiving and fading and dying – that to achieve their real self and to have a “real life” he must go to India , his native place.

Desai feels that all these immigrants are prone to live or not live in England. Adit leaves England for good and Dev remains behind once. Adit’s part of fascination for his foreign land to everything about London is fascinating and expresses unreservedly.

“I love England I admire England I can appreciate her history and poetry as much any Englishmen”.

He has moulded and transformed himself entirely up to the expectations of England. He has fully adopted the life style of Britishers. He keeps comparing England with his own native land criticize India for it’s traditionally and backwardness. Truly his experience in India was not very pleasant and he portrays its heart-rending picture. When Dev felt disgusted to see a couple hugging each other under a lamp-post and remarked about the obscenity of these people as “a bunch of exhibitions’.

Adit is proud of his blind admiration of England. Love, admiration and loyalty have much offer to England, in return he feels to enjoy and celebrate. Ironically, in all his appraisal worship, land of liberty, individualism he realized that England can provide him neither of these whenever he goes, he becomes a victim of racial discrimination and constantly regarded as second grade citizen. His irresistible destiny gets on as long as his wishes to stay in England.

Despite his love and admiration for England, he feels himself as a lien and strangers at the moment his heart is full with nostalgic reveries of his native land. He longs for many things especially for food items in his home. Adit closed the circle of his migration complete from India to England and again to India. But Dev who came for studies criticized Britishers, laugh at Adit about his love for England. Though in the beginning he is fully determined, he would not stay in England. He appreciates only for England’s green and grisly life. It was the beginning of his predicament. At the close of the novel he finds completely bewitched and charms for future perspectives of his life in England.

         It can be easily evinced that “Bye, Bye black bird” depicts the love-hate relationship of the expatriates with England. In the novel Desai presents a clear reversal attitude of two expatriates. Adit who loves it leaves for good and decides to settle in India. Dev, who hate it, stays in London. Thus the fact is that Dev and Adit have love-hate relationship with ex- coloniers. In “Bye,Bye Blackbird”, there is different effects on different characters. Adit, there is an eye-opener, realizes him to return to his country. He completes the full circle; Dev begins a new one.

         When Dev enters England he is shown that his state of mind is in an extreme end. He has ferocious hatred towards England because once England has powered motherland and ill-treated his countrymen. He shows hatred toward England and its people. He hated Indians who supports the western culture.

         Desai digs out Dev deep rooted national feeling he imbibed by history of Indian freedom. He considers English men as his enemy. The extreme end of his state of mind is fully occupied with the spirit of his national feeling. The luxurious, happiness, privacy which everyone possess and enjoys English culture. Slowly changes and starts admiring the “once hatred” culture. In the end of the novel he decided to settle in England. It is another end of his state of mind. It is to be appreciable that the role of the novelist in bringing the psychic changes of the protagonists and their plight in an alien countries. She reveals that culture will change any person to follow it not out of compulsion of any external force but by changing the person’s psyche to follow it voluntarily, whether it is eastern culture or western changes of the protagonists of Desai.

         Anita Desai’s works mark a new and mature phase in Indian English fiction. Anita Desai started writing in the sixties. The emergence of eminent women writers merged into the stream with their male contemporaries. The legacy of colonialism hangs heavily on the writers whose themes centered on socio-political and cultural issues results. Along with colonial and post colonial issues, the theme of women writers fore grounded the emotional in compatibility between partners in marriages and voiced the woman’s need for space in a patriarchal society. Her early novels concentrate on the feminine sensibility at war with the hostility of male centered universe. Her later novels reveal the sensitive apprehension of existentialist against the modern man trapped in islands of loneliness, equally alienated from family and society.

         A prominent theme running through her novels is the aloneness of the human being in the isolated island of human destiny. The burden of existence hands heavy on most of her characters. As K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar puts it, “is the exploration of sensibility the particular kind of modern sensibility that is ill at ease.”

         Desai usually used the theme of expatriation in most of her novels. Desai evokes the right atmosphere through the rich imagery characteristic of her style and the use of symbols. The psychological issue in her character’s life affairs the dimensions of existential agony because it is rooted in the existential loneliness that corrodes her being and makes it possible for her to find meaning in an arid existence.

         Expatriation of the individual is a persistent theme in Anita Desai’s novels. The sensitive human being suffers from a sense of alienation who could reach the intensity of an existential malaise. Desai unfolds the existential traits of man in society. She analyses a man in action in order to reveal his hidden motives behind the reality of conscious mind. Her novel brings forth some bright prospect of her creativity. They leave an impression on the reader that Desai’s arts moves from strength to strength, abounding in wit, humour and creative fecundity.