A Tribute to MulkRaj Anand

Abstract

As I think of Mulkraj Anand, what comes to my mind is the unforgettable image of the lost child who in , in his creation in his very story he published in 1927, The Lost Child which has gone into the reportoire of great short stories of the world. The hope and desire ,the despair and lostness and yearning for love characteristic of the child in the story are writ large on his vey face, in his sad expression and  in the very twinkle of his eyes. The child archetype is present in Bakha of  The Untouchable, Munnu of the Coolie, Ananta, Raliaram of The Big Heart Krishan Chander of the Confession of a Lover and likewise his other protagonists of his novels. These protagonists find themselves is trajectory of self-definition through experiences of intense desire, unrelieved despair, inwards loneliness and alienation.