"RAAG DARBARI"

Presented by: Lovely Pradhan and Swayom Biswal

Chapters Assigned: Chapters 12, 13, 14, 15
Guided By: Pronema Bagchi
Introduction
Raag darbari, the name itself explains it's meaning
which is the " the music of the court ". In here Shrilal
Shukla refers to the tune sung by the courtiers of latter
day local Raja , that's to say a village politician

• Raag darbari a novel published in 1968 on Indian dystopia earned

him wide acclaim with its sahitya academy award .
• The novel has been translated into English and 15 Indian
languages .
• And was marked as one of the best satires in Indian literature.
• The satire is a critical and stimulating agent that tends to debunk
and disparage the flaws of the political social system such as
moral degradation, injustice and power abuse
 Raag Darbari

• The novel is originally written by Shrilal Shukla in 1968, for which he was
awarded the Sahitya Academy Award (1969)

• Translated from hindi by Gillian Wright with an introduction by Francessa

Orsini.

• The novel is narrated from the point of view of Rangnath while his stay in
Shivpalganj village at his uncle's house.

• This work gives us a contrary between the idealistic view of rural lives and
their original state .
Characters
Gayadin: The vice chair person of the college managing committee; owns a shop.
Bela: Gayadin’s daughter
Ruppan, who is in love with Bela.
Vaidyaji
Local MLA
Jognath
The Policemen
The school masters
 Chapter 12

• A robbery took place at Gayadin's house and his family hid the identity of
the thief during police investigation

• During a discussion regarding election in college to replace the principal,

Gayadin defends him

• Malviya claims that the principal is wasting money to which Gayadin says
"public money is bound to be wasted"

• Chamrahi, a place for the untouchables show that inequality among various
social groups still reside within the society.
 Chapter 13

• Pradhan ( Ramadhin's brother) Also a " son of a pig " 🐷 Who takes bribe
from people

• Sanichar prepares Bhang when he was called by Vaidyaji

• In a room , Rangnath, Badri, Principal shahib were discussing about who to

appoint as the next Pradhan of the village

•when Sanichar enters and was asked to sit with them, he denies saying " I
am not worthy to sit with you sahib "

• Then Vaidyaji suggests that Sanichar should become the Pradhan

• A love letter written to Bela in English was found in Gayadin's courtyard.

 Chapter 14

•Ruppan meets Jognath in the village mela

•He also meets few policemen who were searching for the person who had
sent a threat letter to Ramadhin

•Ruppan offers them his cooperation on the matter

•Rangnath meets Langar who told him that the file is still in his office
 Chapter 15

• Rangnath visits the temple which was made in "Satyug" upon examining he finds out that its not
so old
• the priest asks Rangnath for money when Rangnath asks to show the statue of the God in the
Mandir
• Ruppan saves Rangnath from the trouble
• Inspector Singh tries to take bribe from the shopkeepers
• later Ruppan intervened and solved the fued
• During the return , Rangnath and Ruppan both meet a whore who tries to seduce them but
failed at the attempt since they took no interest in her
• Rangnath then asks Ruppan Babu about the love letters he wrote to Bela but Ruppan didn't
answer
Relevance of Raag Darbari in villages of post independence era v/s
contemporary time

•The novel carries relevance even know because the conditions of rural areas
is pretty much the same although they have different variants of problem
know.

•Societal evils like corruption, nepotism, bribery, abuse of power,

untouchability will take many more decades to be completely eradicated

•The text was an attempt at reviewing existing administrative theories and

literature on policy and governance as well as beuraucatic practices and
micropolitics in rural India

•Apart from representations of rurality, institutional fuctioning, Raag Darbari

can also be taken as an important source of knowledge to understand
development and it's experiences in contemporary India

•Raag Darbari as a masterpiece of fiction depicts the concrete reality, to the

performative tool of language as it imparts satire and irony
Conclusion
Through these chapters of the novel we come across the prevalence of
corruption within political system.
• Characters like Vaidyaji serves as symbols of abuse of power. The novel
highlights the moral decay in society with characters engaging in
unethical practices.
• Sarcastic critique on Indian system following Independence
• Societal paradoxes and absurdities are exposed by his use of comedy
and sarcasm.
• Corruption prevails even in rural areas, conflicts within the system,
misuse of power and nepotism
• Gives a CONTRADICTION TO THE CONVICTION that villages are free
from societal liabilities and have a peaceful livelihood.
 THANK YOU
.
Questions & answers
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