Book Reviews
| Author | Bijoy K. Chowdhury |
| Published date | 01 October 2014 |
| Date | 01 October 2014 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0019556120140417 |
956
I
INDIAN
JOURNAL
OF
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
VOL.
LX,
NO.
4,
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2014
Sociology of
Literature
SuBHASH
SHARMA,
Jaipur, Rawat Publications, 2013, pp. x+206. Rs. 675.00.
There
is
a popular saying in Hindi 'Sahitya Samaj
Ka
Darpan
hai'
(literature is a mirror
of
society). Although the saying is quite valid, the
reality js much more complex. Society
is
not a monolithic entity. There are
multiple social groups and interests, different from each other and sometimes
competing with and opposing each other. Therefore, a relevant question
is
whether the I iterature depicts the reality
of
the entire society or a part
of
it.
A litterateur also belongs to a particular social group and he is deeply
conditioned
by
his social context.
Obviously, the statement that literature reflects the reality
of
society
must substantively be qualified. A discipline like sociology
of
literature
becomes relevant
in
bringing out the complex relationship between society
and literature. Unfortunately, not much has been written on Hindi I iterature
from a sociological perspective. The gap must be bridged,
if
we have to
gain better insights into the past and the present
of
the Indian society on
the basis
of
the stupendous corpus
of
Hindi literature. The stories, novels
and poetry written in Hindi provide a rich source for understanding the
colonial and the contemporary Indian society.
In
this light, the work titled
Sociology
of
Literature, authored by Dr. Subhash Sharma, becomes quite
significant.
The author brings out the relationship between knowledge and society
based on the four selected Hindi novels: Rangbhumi by Premchand, Budhua
Ki
Beti by Pandey Bechan Sharma 'ugra', Vharti Dhan Na Apna 'by Jagdish
Chandra and Parishishtha
by
Giriraj Kishore.
Although, these novels have different chronological and regional
contexts, they revolve around the dalit characters as central figures. The
author has done a comprehensive analysis
of
the socio-cultural contexts
of
the novelists and has tried
to
examine the time, space, events and characters
portrayed by them against this backdrop. Dr. Sharma has rigorously utilised
the social data
of
these novels to throw light
on
the dynamics ofrelationship
between dalits and non-dalits and the contradictions within the dalit
soci·:!ty.
The author introduces the book by enumerating several conditions during
the l 91h Century Europe that led to the emergence and growth
of
novels as
a genre
of
literature. He further traces beginnings
of
the sociological studies
ofliterature leading to the emergence
of
the sociology
of
literature. In the
Indian context, the author has discussed an interesting issue as to which
the first Hindi novel was. More importantly, the author has demonstrated
how renaissance
in
Hindi literature began with the advent
of
the freedom·
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