POST COLONIAL STUDIES WITH REFERENCE TO

THE MYSTIC MASSEUR BY V.S NAIPAUL

(By Devi Kavitha Ki!h"a# OUM$P%
CONTENT
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Focusing at the main character of the novel, Ganesh, one can see from the start that he
has chosen follow the colonist way. He was ashamed of his Indian name and wanted to be called
Gareth (10). he colonist !ortrays a better way of living with seeing this, !eo!le li"e Ganesh
often see"s a way to achieve it. However they are not ready to let go of what they have been
!racticing either. Ganesh still believes besides day light any other is harmful to his eyes.(11)
Ganesh is torn between both ways.
his can be seen as colonialism ill. he Indians were brought in to rinidad as chea!
labours. hey are brought over without !ro!er documentation most #ust came with a few
clothing. he only trace they will have to their mother land will be their memories which will
eventually fade away as time goes on. herefore the actually cultural !ractices and tradition of
Hinduism could be com!letely erased or !artially !resent. In order to have some "ind of lin" to
their religion many emigrant coo"s u! their own ways from their memories or what is left of it.
his will be the reason why many of the scenes found in the novel could be ta"en seriously. For
instance, where the author describes how Ganesh is turned into real $rahmin it is only done from
half way. In India, $rahmins are su!!ose to learn lesson on religion from the age of % they learn
by stages and only in the final stage they will attend lesson in $anares, India. &!on com!leting
the course they will be !resented with a thic" white string across their chest. $y the way, no one
shaves their head, many of them has long hair bundled in a low bun. (Dr. Paul Flesher, University of
Wyoming-http://www.uwyo.edu/religionet/er/hinduism/hslife.htm
It seems sad, that these 'ast Indians do not "now much about their culture and they have
chosen to live the in between two worlds or com!letely let go of their unsure !ast.
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Ta!, 1- T&"e &. My!ti' Ma!!e(
!umour is a ru""er sword that allows you to ma#e a point without drawing any "lood.
()ee!a" *ho!ra(
his novel has a uni+ue tone ,ai!aul uses humour and irony then again at time uses
de!recatory as a tool to !ut through his !oints. It is started with the scene where the narrator is
brought to Ganesh-s house to get treatment for his leg. hey (he and his mother) believe in
Ganesh more than a doctor because he has a lot of boo"s and therefore in their eye he is a wise
man e+uivalent to a doctor. his action causes the narrator his leg but his mother still blamed him
for going to see Ganesh with a bad mind (not believing Ganesh-s !ower. ($he %ysti&
%asseur(%%, '-(). ,ai!aul uses this scene to underlines the immaturity of the rinidadian-s in
the novel by using situational irony. tragic irony.
In the middle of the novel a scene ta"es !lace where /eela, Ganesh-s wife wal"s out of
their house and leaves a note full of !unctuation behind. 0he says that she cannot live there
anymore and she will not tolerate the insult of her family. his is a form of verbal irony as what
she wrote is not what she actually meant. ,evertheless, Ganesh understands her concealed
meaning and after ma"ing a scene, he writes the first boo" more li"e a boo"let. 1s soon as it is
!rinted he goes to bring her bac". 1s e2!ected she comes bac" believing he will do better as he
has a boo" now.(34(40 55) he said scene can also be seen as amusing irony.
6eiled within this scene, is a !oint ,ai!aul ma"es ironically. 1lthough Ganesh raised his
hand on /eela and treated her father badly before, she did not leave him. 0he only left him when
she realised her life is going to be less comfortable as Ganesh isn-t generating any money. 7nce
the boo" was out she believed she will be fine. /ater in the novel Ganesh follows all /eela-s
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advise to generate more money and ma"es sure money doesn-t flow out as much as it comes in
this can be seen when the sign is written and hung in front of Ganesh-s house. ...re)uest for
monetary assistan&e &annot "e entertained. (55189). 1 clear scene would be the transition that
Ganesh ta"es for !eo!le-s hero to family hero. He ta"es this transition after realising he would
not ma"e much money being a mystic masseur in com!arison to a !olitician. hese incidents
written in the novel sends out a message that in the end money will ma"e you change.
:eading between lines of the scenes in the novel, I derived to a conclusion that ,ai!aul is
using tough love to trigger the minds of his readers. 5ost !robably it is dedicated to the !eo!le
who are stuc" within two beliefs. ,ai!aul sends out a +uestion why wal" through a #ungle when
there is a highway to your destination. ;hy waste !recious time<
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Ta!, 0 - Oie"ta)i!/ a"4 My!ti' Ma!!e(
1ccording to 'dward 0aid-s conce!t of 7rientalism, when a dominant grou! con+uers
and frail grou! whom they !resume to be unintelligent, irrational and childli"e, they will start
stereoty!ing anything and everything that is not similar to their belief to be abnormal. 1s time
goes by the frail grou! will slowly acce!t this conce!t and wor" to become normal. In the 5ystic
5asseur the !rotagonist Ganesh is a young man who is sent to he =ueens :oyal collage for his
further studies gets a taste of the western ways of living. He voluntarily chooses to be called
Gareth.(10(11) he white students and some already influenced students are the dominant and
those li"e Ganesh are the frail so he acce!ts the dominant grou!-s ways and beliefs.
$eing in already influenced by the west culture, !ower and "nowledge Ganesh-s return to
his village made him see everything in a different way> this is according to the narrator of the
5ystic 5asseur. For instance, during Ganesh-s father-s funeral ceremony he did not "now what
to do. ...everything he did seemed unreal.(?0) He was educated but he was still needed to learn
(ideas) what is to be done in rinidad. 1long the way he get raw ideas from !eo!le around him
li"e :amlogan his father(in(law, /eela his wife, he Great $elcher his aunt, 5r :ichard 0teward
a friend he res!ects the $eharry s and even the !rint sho! owner. 0tudies these raw ideas,
mani!ulates them and uses them to fit his ways. 'dward 0aid says the 7rientelist con+uered
studies and owned many of the 7rients !roduction. Ganesh became !eo!le-s hero in other words
the he was the dominant one now.
It is essential to note that he did not force this on the villagers he had to do it as that was
the best way. his is similar to the emergence of stereoty!ing conce!t, the frail needed the
dominant to con+uer them. hey need to be ta"en care of and taught. Ganesh "new to e2cel he
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needed to feed on the belief and Hinduism of the villagers. Ganesh used Hinduism as a mas".
@rove can be seen when /eela confronts Ganesh, if he tric"ed the little boy and his family.(1?%).
Fast forward a few cha!ters and we find Ganesh dining with the Governor (1A8) Ganesh
feels relived when /eela say she did not want to go and he goes on saying he will not eat with
for" and s!oon. However, the ne2t day he as"s his friend how is it done and later at the dinner he
uses the s!oon to have his sou!.
hings did not go well in the dinner, that night he came bac" and made some noises.
/oo"ing at this scene at whole, it is clear that he was not being himself at home. Bust the way the
west felt when there were in the east. hey had to change things around to ma"e sure they felt
comfortable. 'ven Ganesh, did ma"e changes li"e suggesting to /eela to s!ea" in !ro!er 'nglish
and stac"ing u! his room with boo". Ganesh used boo"s to e2!end his !ower boo" was always
!resent and influencing his entire life. 1lthough, Ganesh was the dominant one at the village the
west had their influence on him through boo"s.
'dward 0aid, mentioned that the east were seen as wea" and naive therefore the west
being the strong, intelligent and rational minded had to dominate the east and teach them. 1t the
clima2 of the novel Ganesh become a 5ember of the /egislative *ouncil but the west saw him
as a wea" and irrational member. In order to teach him a lesson when he involves himself in the
sugar estate !roblem and ma"es the !roblem worse they did not sto! him. hey let him do it and
only later after he made a !ublic a!ology, wrote a boo" on it and sto!!ed wal"ing out of meeting
they !aid more attention to him and made him a 5ember of the $ritish 'm!ire. $y this time he
has buried his mas" and started becoming one of the ;est. 0omething he wanted since he had his
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first taste of the west ways in collage. his is clearly shown when Ganesh re#ect being called
@undit Ganesh and states coldly that he wants to be addressed as G. :amsay 5uir.
In conclusion, the 5ystic 5assuer has been a #ourney !roving the findings of 'dward
said on how the west !erceives the east and the east as re!resented in the boo" !roves to be the
way the west see them. he dominant !arty did not even have to be !resent in the !icture to
control the east. Bust the !ower of "nowledge and comfort was necessary.
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Re.ee"'e!
Chalid H. 1n Introduction to 'dward 0aid-s *rientalism, web. 6intage $oo"s. 1AA8
o htt!D..www.renaissance.com.!".Feb$o:e?yE.htm
,ai!aul, 6.0. he 5ystic 5asseur. /ondon, ,ew For", etc.D 6intage $oo"s, 1A%3
Flesher @. 0tudies of :eligion, &niversity of ;yoming. ;eb. 1AA1
o htt!D..www.uwyo.edu.religionet.er.hinduism.hslife.htm
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