Manohar Malgonkar: Army Colonel to Famous Novelist

One of the gifts of the Raj is the English Language . Many indians have picked up this language and mastered it to perfection.Thus we have Mulkraj Anand, Kushwant Singh, RK Narayan and Salman Rushdie- all Indians who have made for themselves a name, as writers of English fiction. However there is one writer Manohar Malgonkar, who is my favourite.

Malgonkar spent a fair amount of time in the Army during the Second World War. He left the Army at the end of the war as a lieutenant Colonel. But this stint in the Army, was to serve him in good stead as he used the Army background for a lot many of his novels. Thus Colonel Malgonkar wrote some of the finest epitaphs on the British Indian army. Two of his books 'Bandicoot run' and "Distant drums' , Malgonkar's acknowledgement and debt to the British Indian army which he served stand out.

Malgonkar also wrote a lot many other books like the famous ' Bend in the ganges' and the well researched non-fiction'The men who killed Gandhi'.  The last named was after a lot of research. Malgonkar compares very favourably with his contemporaries. But some fault him for being a little apologetic about the Raj. There is no doubt that the Raj featured prominently in his writings.

Malgonkar was born into a royal family, and educated at Bombay university. He was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Maratha Light Infantry,   The socio-historical milieu of those times form the backdrop of his novels, which are usually of action and adventure. He also wrote non-fiction, including biography and history.

Malgonkar lived in a remote bungalow, at some distance from the town of uttar kannada joida taloq Karnataka. His only child Sunita, who was educated at the famous Lawrence School Lawrence S, Sanawar, died in 1998.

Colonel Malgonkar is no more, but he has left behind a wealth of books to taste, savor and digest. He was certainly a master story teller, who kept the reader engrossed. It is a pity that the Indian Government has not honoured this man, who was certainly the best English writer of his generation.

John Masters " Venus of Konpara" is a wonderful Statement of Sexuality in British India

John Masters was an Anglo Indian writer who brought the Raj alive in many of his books. A master story teller he would pick diverse themes and illustrate them by his stories. Venus of Konpara was his last book on India and the Raj and was published in 1960. In this book John recounts a masterful tale and brings out the clash between the old and the new. He also differentiates between Dravidian culture and the Aryans in his own inimitable way. But at the same time he advocates synthesis of cultures, both Dravidian and Aryan.

The story which is set at the turn of the nineteenth century when the Raj was in full sway is also a love story. The book does breathe sexuality and concerns the love of a Dravidian girl dancer with the Aryan prince of an imaginary kingdom. The Prince who comes after education from England wishes to build a dam and a cricket field in an underdeveloped part of his kingdom. When the work commences a beautiful statute of a woman dancer is discovered. The beauty of the statute gives it the name of Venus of Konpara. John Masters builds plots and sub-plots with the British resident, the uncle of the Prince and the tribal's of Gond. It is a thrilling tale and the Dravidian girl engrosses the prince as never before. Ultimately she marries him and that is Johns answer to a distinction between the Dravidian and Aryan races.

John Masters

The book has its passages of sensuality as John describes the nude Indian Classical dance done by the girl dancer before the prince. But all in all it is an engrossing tale. John wrote many other books but 'Venus of Konpara' illustrates his love for India. John Master in this novel brings out the Aryan and Dravidian motifs. He also refers to tigers, forest fires, and poison arrows. The poison arrow kills the British resident in the book. The novel is set in South Central India of that time, where the Gond tribal's held sway. Perhaps John had visualized the setting in the modern state of Chhattisgarh. John Masters as a story teller is par excellence. His prose is simple and the style racy. In contrast to his other popular book Bhowani junction, Venus of Konpara is an equally significant work. We must salute this Anglo Indian writer who made India and the Raj come alive in his booksglo Indian writer who brought the Raj alive in many of his books. A master story teller he would pick diverse themes and illustrate them by his stories. Venus of Konpara was his last book on India and the Raj and was published in 1960.