1/19/2024 5:54:16 AM

V.S NAIPAUL- THE MAKING OF A WRITER

 INTRODUCTION

A question had appeared in Paper 3- December 2012 NET exam; it was question 1 on V.S Naipaul. It asked what the subtitle of  'The Caribbean Revisited ' was. Back in the college days, when I was in a graduate program, I hadn't even heard of the competitive exam. My only motivation to go for English Hons. was the love for reading, though my reading list wasn't worth boasting. Soon, the truth dawned on me that love for reading only wasn't enough!

It was during the early days of the graduate program that one of my professors threw a question to the class on V.S NAIPUAL; that was the first time, I heard of him. By that time, I had been rebuffed by the high-brows; I was not worthy to be called an English graduate. I was already under a deluge. There was no end to the reading list. That's when love was tested and got separated from pleasure. Love required sweat; it became a task. In the anxiety to meet the current deadline, I didn't even Google Naipaul.

Not until the Post-Grad semester course program prescribed ' The House for Mr. Biswas", I hadn't even turned a page - that's how pressed of time you get once you get stuck in the vicious cycle of assignment submission, mid-semester, and end-semester exams!

Today, when I was thinking of a title for my blog, I thought of starting with Naipaul. Combined with the memories of my trying days in college, you will relate to the insights and musings of a student while studying.   

WHAT'S THE RIGHT APPROACH?

During my early school days, Nandan, Tinkle, and Champak were more of my comfort zone. Academic English was cold to me as I was to it. It was a matter of shame to even hold such Sunday leisures in an ICSE school premises. So, I waited to get back home to devour my guilty pleasure. Arundhati Roy's, ' The God of Small Things' was seen in the hands of the rarest of the rare. I was slow in picking up the fluency. My school essays were contrived. The breakthrough happened with Chetan Bhagat's, ' The Three Mistakes of my Life'- a novel in Indianised English. There were hiccups but didn't turn the pages of the dictionary to obstruct reading. But, with time, the ease and pace came naturally. I was happy to be at least on a boat if not on a cruise. It made inroads into the bustling world that Literature is.

Now, the challenges I faced during my school days continued during the college days too; and with time challenges keep growing. But, here our focus is to bring the figures in English Literature and Language to the masses; to not put them on a pedestal for the sake of familiarity and understanding. 

Literature depicts life at its simplest, captures raw emotions; so why the writers who bring to us the most humble panorama of human existence in a book find a readership among the few? 

BREAKING V.S NAIPAUL INTO ITS CONSTITUENT PARTS

Before looking at the writer, we must have an understanding of the socio-political situation of the time a writer is placed against. A writer is a product of his times and experiences. 

V.S Naipaul's maternal and paternal grandparents were indentured laborers working in the sugar plantations. They moved from India to Trinidad in the 19th century. It was an island governed by the British crown. Now, when his grandparents moved to Trinidad, India was already under British rule. So you can call the island a British outpost. The great famine of 1876-77 caused emigration. India, being mainly an agricultural economy put the landed gentry under huge debt. Indenture was a form of contract for the repayment of debts. More so, the emigration led to cross-cultural conflict and erosion of Hindu Brahmin ritualistic practices. Later on, the restrictions loosened to a healthy interaction and acceptance. This was manifested in language, clothing, eating habits, festivals, and other social interactions. 

V.S Naipaul was born in a sugar plantation town to Draupadi and Seepersad Naipaul on 17 August 1932. His father was an English Language journalist who contributed to the Trinidad Guardian. It was his father's writing memories that brought forth the writer in him and gave wings to his writing career. 

NAIPAUL'S JOURNEY BEFORE ESTABLISHING HIMSELF A WRITER

Before winning a scholarship by the Trinidad Government to study abroad, he was enrolled in Queen's Royal College. He chose Oxford to study English. The promising beginning soon led to disillusionment; he became unsure of his writing capabilities. Loneliness and gloom grew. The clouds of depression were scattered when he met Patricia Ann Hale. She was a history student and later would marry Naipaul. Her encouragement and support acted as a catalyst in renewing his frustrating relationship with writing. While reading on Naipaul, I came across a fun fact- J.R.R Tolkien, (yes, who wrote The Lord Of the Rings!)  reviewed his paper on Anglo-Saxon writing. 

In the year 1953, Naipaul graduated; followed by the death of his father. The hardships of working at odd jobs to make up for diminished finances were added by rejected job applications and irregular writings. Hesitatingly, he borrowed money from his family in Trinidad and his wife to enroll in the B.Litt course. In the year 1954, he moved to London after failing B.Litt.  

Left without any job opportunity, Naipaul slipped into illness. He was at war with himself and the people around him. He forsook Trinidadians and lashed at Britishers for his depleted state. 

A ray of hope appeared in Dec 1954 when Henry Swanzy offered Naipaul a three-month contract to present BBC Weekly program Caribbean Voices. 

In the year 1955, after moving to Kilburn with Pat, he became a part of the freelancers club while being a part-time presenter at the BBC Weekly. Amidst the camaraderie and ambiance, he typed a 3000-word story titled  Miguel Street. The story depicted his childhood in the Port of Spain. Encouraged further by the fellow writers, he continued to work with his first publishable work- The Miguel Street!

Although Miguel Street didn't see the light of the day instantly, it did catch the attention of the editor of a publishing company. The editor sensing Naipaul's unknown Caribbean background in London encouraged him to write a novel first to establish his credibility. Naipaul hurriedly wrote The Mystic Masseur without much enthusiasm. The publishing house accepted his novel in Dec 1955 and offered payment. This marked the start of his career as a  writer. 

image credits- bbc.co