Multiple narrators in S L Bhyrappa's Anveshana

A sequel to the classic novel Gruhabhanga, Anveshana is unique in its own way. It establishes the narrative for the protagonist Vishwanatha's circumstances. With less than 200 pages, it is unique for the narrative technique which I shall explain shortly. I have not read Gruhabhanga so I cannot provide a comparison but after reading this novel I would like to read the prequel and other novels by this author.

Multiple narrations

At a time when many Indians did not know this narrative style, the Sahitya-academy winning author has used multiple narrators - sometimes in first-person and sometimes in third-person. The protagonist Vishwanatha, child of the central character Nanjavva in Gruhabhanga, is introduced to the reader through thoughts of these various characters who have developed a relationship with Vishwanatha and have been influenced by him. A brahmin loner who commutes on horseback, a widowed lawyer, a drama teacher, an actress in a drama company, a yogi, a young woman who marries Vishwanatha under false promises and a professor are the prominent characters that appear in this book. The last narrator, the professor, is a symbol for the reader who is trying to understand Vishwanath through notes in his diary. The author changes the Kannada accent with every changing narrator. Special mention of an admirable description of the turbulent feelings of his wife as she tries to make meaning of events in her life. The multi-person narration used here along with the literary mode 'stream of consciousness' not only reveals about the central character but also about the strengths and weaknesses of each narrator. Each chapter can serve as a long short-story. One particular narrator's experience was interestingly comical though he is a saint. His reaction upon being in the prostitute street for the first time, his strange love-hate feelings for Vishwanath, his respect for and jealousy about him so much so that he had lost his own identity were convincingly depicted as he was on a path of exploring sexual orientation. Let me emphasize that the novel does not have different narratives but different characters contemplating and introspecting on their experiences with the protagonist thus contributing to character development.

Structure

The book starts with the first narrator, the maternal grandfather, who sets out in search of Vishwanatha to bequeath his savings when he realizes that he is struck by a terminal ailment. We soon find out that the search is internal, him trying to find peace in the belief that his savings can somehow counter for what led to his young grandson's current pitiable state. Each chapter dedicated to one character's experience, sometimes two, ends somewhat abruptly with Vishwanath's relationship with the narrator coming to an end with no explanation, but the gaps are filled in the final chapter. There are about seven chapters where every chapter is more interesting than the previous one as Vishwanath grows from an innocent boy to a young man heading into entailments of marriage, meeting noteworthy characters who influence his life and are equally affected by him.

Trains

Why didn't the cover picture include a train as there is a recurring aspect of trains? Other than the fact that each chapter indulges us in a train of thoughts through each character, trains, tracks and railway stations appear often. Vishwanatha travels from his hometown Arsikere to Ranibennur by foot following the train tracks. In Mumbai, he is employed to draw horse-cart outside the train station. His wife tries to commit suicide on a railway track. Perhaps, 'train' is synonymous with 'journey' as Vishwantha travels from Ranibennur to Mumbai and back to Chikamagalur and Mysore on his path towards the exploration of life, 'exploration' being the meaning of 'Anveshana'.

Attention to details

The details add to a vivid experience. Taking us back to the period after Independence, the moments and incidents add to the way of life back then. Description of the mountains of Chikamagaluru paints a picture of blue hills spawning a desire to visit a hill-station. One of the narrators wonders in his designated chapter: how a small space houses several inmates pitying their poverty. While this question is still afresh in our minds, we are opened to the garden in the backyard consisting of flowering plants and vegetable patches including a well. A few parts of the story take place in this backyard, the portrayal of which remains strong in my memory.

My favorite moments (spoilers ahead, you may skip the section if you want to read the book):

• Clouds used as a metaphor to express the state of mind of the man residing in the hills. He compares the white clouds to peaceful, lightweight mind that move with the slightest push of wind, which gradually turns heavy like the dark clouds filled with abstinence, melancholy, violence, lunacy until the cloud is cleansed through a rain pour rendering it light again.
• Vishwanatha's wife's moments of agonizing pain as she tries to live amidst an irrecoverable loss. Being a wife and mother, this portion disturbed me. It had been years since I shed tears while reading a book.
• The last lines of his letter to his wife where he expresses relief in the knowledge that she was not wearing the mangalsutra when he met her. Relief because now she could take the decision to go back to him as a free person but not someone who is bound by the force of matrimony. From someone who  remarked "vikruta kaama kettaddu" regarding homosexuality, meaning that twisted love was bad, it still seems an admirable gesture in India of the 1970s, though it occurred in fiction.

The author does not provide a definite ending but an indecisive one just like we all struggle when we need to take the right course of action when faced with challenging circumstances.

Ending this post with other multi-perspective reads from my TBR list:

• Gone Girl, by Gillin Flynn
• As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner (though the thought of reading 59 chapters makes me hesitant)
• The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins
• Wonder, by R J Palacio
• Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell
• Red at the Bone, by Jacqueline Woodson

Which other books by Bhyrappa do you recommend to read?