Abstract

The aim of this paper is to depict Ajñeya's attitudetowards civilization, called sabhyatā in Hindi. In his prose thisterm refers to the ills of the world, in which mainprotagonists, mostly inhabitants of big North-Indiancities, live in the first half of the20th century. In his poems itsymbolises the bonds of the Self in the search forfreedom of the individual experience. Ajñeya, S. H.Vātsyāyan (1911–1987) became famous for hiscontribution to Hindi literature as an editor ofTār Saptak (1943),an anthology which marks the appearance of prayogvād, a new school inpoetry. His position of theoretician of modernity inHindi literature is seen also in his prose andessays. Ajñeya's critique of the crisis ofcivilization and his vision of its recovery will beillustrated with passages from his selected works.They will prove the thesis adopted in this paper,that Ajñeya identifies sabhyatā with the negative influences ofthe West on Indian society of his times. The writerbecame an advocate of only those Western values,which like science could reduce inhumanity in theworld. The paper reveals the writer's aspiration toplay a leading role for Indian society in theirtransition from tradition to modernity. The issuesdiscussed in the paper refer also to the ability ofHindi language to express the ideas postulated byAjñeya, that is revival of lost traditional values,the universality of human experience and the defenceof man's reason.

Keywords: Hindi literature, Ajñeya, Westerncivilization, Indian civilization, MahatmaGandhi

In many of his writings Ajñeya reflects on theinfluence of the Western civilization in India onits society and culture, he refers to moderncivilization with the Hindi term sabhyatā, a feminine nounmeaning “cultivated, or educated in manner, polite”and “civilized state, civilization” (McGregor, 1993,p. 983). The writer depicts the crisis ofcivilization in his own country due to theimplementation of the new values by the Britishcolonial authorities. Their aim to create modernsociety came into clash with the old Indiantradition and values. Dalmia (2012, pp. 77–102) andOrsini (2012, pp. 116–123) make clear that Ajñeyawas engaged a lot with the issues of civilization,mostly criticizing the attitude of middle classinhabitants of big Indian cities.