Chapter 4

India became independent in the year 1947 after the epic struggle against the colonial power. The country redefined itself as a sovereign republic with a constitution of its own in the year 1950. The early years of the country in the nascent stage witnessed a spurt of ideas, aspirations and issues to grapple with. The long trail set ablaze with the ideals of the national movement was burning brighter. So far the path leading to the formation of the nation was defined by many factors and the way these divergent factors were tackled led to the formation of the nation. Now, the formation of the nation -state encompassing all the fragments demanded an engagement with the society with its own novel strategies, for the nation needed to sustain itself within the structural framework of power. It became imperative that the reality of nationhood needed to be structured and restructured according to the changing times to help the nation enter the full panoply of the nation-state. In order to survive and progress as a nation India needed a strong sense of cohesion. The land of diversities, in order to sustain itself needed a system with unitary features. This is how the notion of centrality of power, in the context of the nation-state becomes significant. The regional and linguistic pulls and pressures needed to be tackled for the nation to remain coherent as a whole. Thus the years after independence witnessed yet another version of power struggle that cuts through the dialectics of openness and diversity. The policy of integration of native states was initiated by the State Ministry of the Government under the guidance of Sardar Vallabhai Patel. This initiative by the government improved the prospects of the formation of a United Kerala. The State of Travancore-Cochin

came into existence in 1949. The Maharajas of the two states signed the Covenant of Integration. The legislatures and the ministers of the two states combined to form the legislature and the ministry of the new state. Members were elected to the legislature to form the ministry. Owing to internal dissensions in the Congress ministry, the cabinet headed by Panampilli Govinda Menon fell. It was followed by the Presidents rule. It was during the period of Presidents rule in Travancore- Cochin that the decision on the re- organization of the states of Indian Union on linguistic basis was taken up by the Indian government. A. Sreedhara Menon in his A Survey of Kerala History gives a detailed account of the process of integration: Under the States Re- organization Act of 1956 the four southern taluks of Tovala, Agastiswaram, Kalkulam and Vilavancode and a part of Shencottah taluk was separated from Travancore- Cochin and included in Madras state. The district of Malabar and the Kasargod taluk of South Canara district were added on to the remaining portions of TravncoreCochin to constitute the new state of Kerala. The State of Kerala formally came into existence on November 1, 1956 with a Governor as the head of the State. The last vestiges of princely rule in Kerala also disappeared with the end of the institution of Rajapramukh, consequent upon the formation of the new state. (311) Thus the region of Malabar became part of the State of Kerala. The integration of the three Malayalam- speaking regions attempted to bring about an environment of political and linguistic unity to the culture of Malayalam- speaking people. It shows that the issue of language, both as a tool of cohesion and as a tool of division is becoming significant in the entire discourse of the nation. The nation with diverse ethnicities speaking diverse languages, in order to remain

coherent had to assert its sovereignty through strategies developed with this goal in mind. The story of the region had to be made the nations too for the nation- state to survive. Oru Desathinte Kadha (1971) written by S. K. Pottekkatt attempts to portray the way the nation tried to make the story of the region its own, through various strategies and techniques. The final section of the novel entitled Rustlings talks about the years following independence in the life of the nation. In fact Rustlings is a looking back, the casting of a long glance backwards only to look forward again. The past is juxtaposed with the present to offer a perspective on how the nation tried to imagine the region. The coming back of Sreedharan, the protagonist of the novel to Atiranippadam, a part of the erstwhile Malabar throws open the new picture of a region where the nation had been trying to paint its hues in the years after independence.The huge petrol tank that Sreedharan sees on his arrival, the conversations with Velu Moopar and the new Americanised youth of Atiranippadam who Sreedharan sees on his way back- all pint toward the story of the nation read through the region. The present chapter attempts to explore the issues that can be read between the words lying on the pages of the novel, concerning the nation- state and the way it mediated with the region. Issues of development planning, representative form of government, the way the region understands the nation and the onset of neocolonialism are the significant aspects that could be deciphered from the novel. The first issue that the novel brings forth is that of the impact of industrialization on the region during the period of nation- building. The primary agenda of the sovereign republic in the nascent stages was the development of the country. It was part of the modernization process that was very much the need of the hour. It became imperative for the state to assert the nationalist sovereignty. The site where the nation-state asserted its sovereignty with all its vigour was the site of economy, for the nation- stated needed the language of developmentalism to bring

a society of mixed and diverse interests under one umbrella. In his article Development Planing and the Indian State, Partha Chatterjee observes, A developmental ideology then was a constituent part of the self-definition of the post-colonial state. The state was connected to the people- nation not simply through the procedural forms of representative government; it also acquired its representativeness by directing a programme of economic development on behalf of the nation. The former connected, as in any liberal form of government, the legal- political sovereignty of the state with the sovereignty of the people. The latter connected the sovereign powers of the state directly with the economic policy of the people. (210) The National Planning Commission was set up in 1950 under the chairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of free India. The Nehruvian vision of India was based on the socialistic pattern of development. The objective of Indias development strategy has been to establish a socialistic pattern of society through economic growth based on selfreliance, social justice and alleviation of poverty. Emphasis was placed on the development of state- owned heavy industries and a dominant role for the public sector in the economy. These objectives were to be achieved within a democratic political framework using the mechanism of a mixed economy where both public and private sectors co-exist. In fact in Indias peculiar brand of Socialism centrally directed planning of the public sector operated in a mixed economy with a substantial private sector and a democratic polity, observes Peter J. Boettke in his work The Collapse of Development Planning (16). India initiated planning for national economic development with the establishment of the Planning Commission. In his article The Planning Regime Since 1951, Arjun Sengupta observes,

The twin legacy of the Indian national movement was the urge for independence: independence and evaluation of everything in terms of the question, is it benefitting the poor? Nehru believed that industrialization was the natural product of these two legacies; it ensured independence and benefitted the poor, gave them swaraj. He believed in industrialization not just as a kind of a boost to economic growth but as an essential desideratum for modernization of the country. (123) The Planning Commission was entrusted with the task of directing and controlling the process of resource generation and allocation. The main vehicle for the transmission of these decisions was the Five- Year Plans developed by the Planning Commission and its associated ministries and agencies. The plans were intended to bring coherence to the nation- state through the language of developmentalism. The task of the nation- state to bring all the diverse entities woven together in one strand recalls what Etienne Balibar has called the delayed nationalization of society, which means successfully producing a fictive ethnicity from a population with diverse interests. Regarding the nation- states attempts at nationalization of the diverse groups Etienne Balibar writes in his work Politics and the Other Scene: The nation is ultimately, an impossible entity, which can never entirely achieve its ideal, and it is as such- that is to say, as a problem, that it is real. An impossible task culturally, for multi- ethnicism and multiculturalism are present from the outset and are constantly reforming themselves. An impossible task economically, since the integral distribution of human beings and resources between national units is in

no sense a tendency of capitalism; at most it is a means of its political

reproduction or its hegemony. . . In these conditions, the nationalization of society is a process of specific statization. But it is also a compromise- not just a more or less stable compromise between classes, but a compromise between the two principles themselves: between the principle of nationalism and that of class struggle. This is the first great factor of ambiguity in national identities and class identities, and a corollary of their reciprocal determinations. (650) As Balibar points out the nationalization of society becomes a process of statization. The ideals of nationalism that demanded a confluence of all the divergent voices, once the formation of the nation- state is achieved die a slow death. This results in the birth of ambiguous identities that interact with each other. Thus it can be argued that the Five Year Plans implemented by the government attempted at the nationalization of the society leading to statization. The aim of the First Five Year Plan (1951-56) was to raise domestic savings for growth and to help the economy resurrect itself from colonial rule. The real break with the past in planning came with the Second Five Year Plan (Nehru-Mahalanobis Plan). The industrialization strategy articulated by Professor Mahalanobis placed emphasis on the development of heavy industries and envisaged a dominant role for the public sector in the economy. The entrepreneurial role of the state was evoked to develop the industrial sector. Kerala was reorganized as a State only in November, 1956 and by that time the Second Five Year Plan was already formulated. The Second Plan gave greater importance to industry, when compared to the First Five Year Plan. The later plans led to the development of a variety of institutions around planning and development. These policies and plans that were implemented by the government intended at changing the face of the regions within the country, thereby leading the country on a linear path of development, subsuming the

differences and conflicts within. In the case of the newly formed state of Kerala, these plans worked in two ways, observes J. Devika in her essay A People United in Development: Developmentalism in Modern Malayalee Identity: . . . linguistic nationalism appears an apt tool aiding the central government to set a national development programme in operation. The goals of the Malayalee people, of achieving internal homogeneity, and secure and well- defined identity vis- a- vis their neighbours, seem to blend effortlessly into the goal of the central government seeking to transform a multiplicity of cultures into a unified, economically powerful and modernized nation-state in and through large- scale developmental activity. (27) Thus for Kerala, the creation of internal homogeneity became tantamount to accepting and taking part in the nation- building process. Kerala had to join the development planning implemented by the central government since the resources needed to come from the centre to promote industrialization in the state. This had another side to it. The backwardness of the region in terms of its lack of industrial modernization made it dependent on the nation- state. J. Devika brings in the remarks made by E. M. S. Namboodiripad, the first Chief Minister of Kerala on development planning and its relation with the state of Kerala in the essay mentioned above: The State of Kerala- its people and its government- however, cannot carry out this task, by themselves. (This is so) . . precisely because Kerala is not an independent country but an integral part of India; our economy is not an isolated one but part of the general economy spread throughout India. . . So we Malayalees can find solutions to our problems only as part of the organized efforts carried out by the

people and the government all over India to reform and develop Indias economy. (27) In Oru Deshathinte Kadha, the protagaonist witnesses the transformation of the region as a result of the nation- states strategy of nationalization. Sreedharan visits Atiranippadam after almost forty years. Coming back to the region where a large chunk of his life left memories enough to last for a lifetime, Sreedharan encounters a lot of things, a lot of faces both old and new. These encounters throw light on how the region has changed under the sway of influences, both national and global. Each and every aspect encountered and recalled brings forth the new phase in the life of the country the country that had left the garden with blooming flowers to travel a long way into the arena of a wider space called the world, to join the legion of nationstates. Sreedharan looked at the petrol tank that has a capacity of ten thousand gallons, writes S.K. Pottekkatt in the beginning of the chapter (505). The tank that could fuel thousands of motor vehicles acts as a symbol in the beginning. The tank represents the memories that are contained within the minds of each individual, the thousand memories that takes the mind in a journey back in time. At the same time, the presence of an object like the petrol tank in a region like Atiranippadam throws open many avenues of thought. The space that the tank occupies in the landscape of the region is indicative of the nation-states mediation with the region, or with the fragments within in at large. The huge tank stands for the transformation in the society as a result of the introduction of Five Year plans leading to the industrialization of the society. Development in this context meant taking a linear path. The will of the nation was being expressed for the wellbeing of its citizens. The region was now being defined by the nation. The huge tank in Atiranippadam changes the face of the region itself, as Sreedharan sees it. It greets

him in the beginning giving an idea of what is to be expected to follow. Yet, the striking aspect is that the development planning intended at the nationalization of the society often failed to achieve the creation of the fictive ethnicity as Balibar puts it (64). When Emma, the girl who Sreedharan meets in Germany gets fascinated by his identity of being an Indian, Sreedharan says: A large group of people widely at variance in all aspects ranging from skin colour to body stature, to rituals, to language, to food habits, to dressing manner, to behaviour live together in the ample space bordered by the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, the Great Himalayas and the southernmost point of Kanyakumari. They are called Indians. How can I not tell this truth? . . . Emma, what you call the real Indian is an imaginary figure. (557) In spite of all the attempts by the nation- state to create the homogenized individual who would ensure the existence and survival of the nation state, the truth looms large that the real Indian is an imaginary figure. Now the attention shifts from the issue of development planning to the issue of representative government and the way a region understands the nation. From the image of the huge petrol tank, the writer turns our attention to the house of Velu Moopar. The character Velu Mooppar is a representative of the past. He is one character who has been a witness to the processes of nation formation that manifested themselves through the various struggles against imperialism. Now, in the verandah of the early seventies in the life of the nation, Velu Moopar

sits sans eyesight. The conversation between Velu Moopar and Sreedharan throws light on a whole lot of aspects regarding the intermingling of the lives of the nation and the region. Where do you live . . . heard that you were in some far off land In Delhi, Sreedharan replied with respect. Where is Delhi? Its far away, in the north. North? Farther than Kashi? Yes, very very far. The land of Gosayis! Am I right? Yes, there are Gosayis also It is the land of Hindustanis the Capital of India.(509) For Velu Mooppar Delhi is unheard of. The capital of the country of which he is a citizen, does not hold much charm for him. The conversation unravels many layers of thinking. On one hand, it focuses on how far Delhi is from Atiranippadam; in other words, how far the capital of the Indian nation is away from the region of Atiranippadam. The region fails to understand the regions far off. On the other hand, the conversation focuses on how one region gets to know another region. The land of Gosayis or the land of Malayalees are all put under one framework by the unitary features that the constitution espouses. Still there is always a lacuna between understandings and misunderstandings. Velu Moopar represents the common man, who is part of the past which was mired in the struggle against imperialism. The formation of the

nation, and the structurations and restructurations that followed did not seem to have occupied his thoughts at all. The conversation continues: What is your job there? Sreedharan felt confused. What should be the answer? Would Velu Mooppar be able to understand the answer I give? Do I need to tell him? Telling a lie is not the right thing to do. An idea struck his mind. After all, hiding something is different from telling untruth (Sreedharan is an M. P., Member of Parliament) He admitted the truth to Velu Moopar, No work to do there. . . ( 509). What S. K. Pottekkattu tries to bring forth is an expression of the disillusionment that was there in the atmosphere of the country in the years that followed independence. The basic institutions of the democratic polity that were formed to protect the interests of the nation as a whole, often failed to live up to the expectations. This is where a criticism of the nation- state arises. The nation- state with the paraphernalia of institutions around it somewhere falls short of the idealistic aspirations that the road to nationalism has envisaged. The truth about the job that Sreedharan articulates reflects the chasm that exists between the state and the ordinary men and women. Yet, the coin has two sides to it. One face talks about the merits of a democratic system which is the government of the people, by the people and for the people.But the other face talks about the disparities that exist between what has been imagined and what is existing in real. To ensure representation from all regions, representatives from the regions were elected to the

parliament. Sreedharan thus becomes a representative of the region as well as of the country. The ideals of democracy that went into the process of nation formation now get a new avatar. Earlier, the regions were united together in the national movement, woven by different strands of thoughts and ideas. After the nation became a sovereign republic, it is the turn of the nation-state to uphold these ideals in a new fashion altogether. There have always been flipsides to it. In his article Reconfigurations in Indian Politics Yogendra Yadav writes As a representational device, elections are better compared to a camera; in a sense it merely records what is out there, but it all depends on who holds it, in which direction and with what focus. Like aesthetic representation, mechanisms of selectivity, erasure and highlighting are inevitably at work in political representation. And what is more, like a camera, elections go much beyond recording the political reality; in a way they create a reality of their own in their life for the sake of representation. (179) Elections have become a way of life in India, after the country gained independence. The issue of representation displays its manifold impressions in all such processes in a democratic polity like India. In a sense, the power struggle continues. The notion of equality in the face of hierarchy depending on the position one occupies in the ladder of power becomes a central concern as well as stark reality of Indian democracy. Velu Moopar and Sreedharan stands at the opposite poles of power hierarchy. Sreedharan is the representative of the people while Velu Moopar even fails to understand what the idea of representation means. The idea of representation becomes central to the interpretation of the nation, for elections with its strict

compartmentalization and organizational structure fail to express the popular will as such. As Ranabdir Sammadar points out in his article, Nation Legitimised, Elections, thus not only compel an interpretation of the politics of the nation, but also compel a politics of interpreting the nation. Votes lie at the heart of elections. They are the essential image of the process, they metaphorise the essentials; also metaphorise the non-essentials by making them appear as essentials. Often, therefore, the language of votes becomes more critical than the arithmetic essence of the act of voting. It problematises the issue of mimesis in the political life of the nation. (176) The institutions and practices like elections ensure the sustenance of the nation- state. Representatives from among the people take part in elections conducted every five years. The process of elections ensures the continuity of the life of the nation- state. Who are those whom the representatives really represent remains an issue mired with ambiguities. The strategy of development planning together with the nation- states way of legitimizing itself the process of elections recall the idea of Governmentality put forward by Michel Foucault. The Foucauldian notion of governmentality reminds that there is a specific form of power that entrenches itself in modern society having its goal the well being of a population, its mode of reasoning a certain instrumental notion of economy, and its apparatus an elaborate network of surveillance (qtd in. Burchell). This modern form of power exercises itself through forms of representation thereby offering itself an aspect of self- disciplining of the very population over which it is exercised. Recalling the idea of governmentality in the Indian context as seen in the novel unravels the way the nation tried to perform itself asserting its sovereignty, through development planning and technological modernism. The huge petrol tank, symbolizing the onset of industrialization point

toward a situation where the national economy becomes synonymous with the nation itself. The protagonist of the novel, Sreedharan, being one among the many representatives sent to the parliament by the people of India stands for the way through which the modern nation legitimizes itself . To borrow Partha Chatterjees words, This was an essential aspect of the hegemonic construct of the post- colonial state: combining accumulation with legitimation while avoiding the unnecessary rigours of social conflict ( 259). The development decades saw the combination of accumulation with legitimation, as Partha Chatterjee puts it. To sum up, the Nehruvian ideal of the modern state, through the deployment of various strategies and the setting up of new institutions, in fact changed the face of the region and the nation. This situation recalls what Foucault has written about the paradoxical phenomenon of the governmentalization of state in his essay Governmentality: May be what is really important for our modernity- that is, for our presentis not so much the etatisation of society, as the governmentalization of the state. . . This governmentalization of the state is a singularly paradoxical phenomenon, since if in fact the problems of governmentality and the techniques of government have become the only political issue, the only real space for political struggle and contestation, this is because the governmentalization of the state is at the same time what has permitted the state to survive, and it is possible to suppose that if the state is what it is today, this is so precisely thanks to the governmentality, which is at once internal and external to the state. . . (103) Right at this point the doubt arises as to whether the modernizing state succeeded in changing the attitude of its citizens to a more progressive level of thought. On one side we can

witness the rapid industrialization of the economy. On the other side certain attitudes remain unchanged. The opinion that Velu Moopar forms about Kunjiraman is an instance where the rigid notions of conservatism expresses itself in a different manner altogether. Eventhough the country was getting modernized with the introduction of economic planning and all true modernity was yet to arrive. The thought processes still needed to undergo transformations. Who is that young man? Sreedharan asked. Stupid boy he reeks of beef, Velu Moopar said with contempt. Who is he? Sreedharan asked again. He is the uncle of Supadra- studied till eighth standard- do you know what his job is?- He is the cook of that company owner Sayippu his job is to prepare beef and pork you have to bath if you happen to touch him ! Velu Moopar is a diehard conservative, thought Sreedharan. Velu Moopar thinks it cheap for men to work in someone elses kitchen, that too a work like cooking beef and pork. (519) This passage expresses how the notion of untouchability, to put it broadly, prevails in a totally new fashion. People like Velu Moopar views with contempt those who do jobs that are considered cheap and low. Another point of contention that Velu Moopar has with

Kunjiraman is that he does cooking which is in fact a work which is the prerogative of women. Occupations are no longer based on the caste into which one is born as in the past. The fact is asserted by the Indian constitution too. Now the issue is with regard to the gender. In other words, Velu Moopars opinion reflects the mentality of the region regarding the notion of gender

equality and inequality. Yet, Sreedharan has a difference of opinion Is the job of a cook something low? It is always better to do some work instead of sitting at home idle (519). The issues contained within the novel in fact gives a whole picture of Atiranippadam during the first two decades following independence. The unitary picture put forward by the nation- state could not confront all these issues widening the gap between the voices from different directions. Through the words of Velu Moopar the novelist skillfully portrays the picture of a region, where in spite of all the modernization strategies brought out by the postcolonial state, certain attitudes remain the same. If it was based on the hierarchy determined by caste system, the occupational status determine the hierarchies of today. The character of Velu Moopar is far different from the character of Sreedharan. In fact while Velu Moopar represents the vestiges of the past, Sreedharan represents the present as well as the future. Toward the end of the novel, the writer brings in another significant aspect that speaks of the negotiation of the region with the world through the agent of the nation- state. The focus now shifts to the entry of India into the global order. By the middle of the twentieth century Indias relationship with itself and the world outside changed leaps and bounds. India was entering the arena of the world as the new, modern nation freed from the clutches of the British rule. The newly formed nation- state started moving from the national to the global during the postindependence period. The early years seemed crucial for the development of the country for the country aspired to become a member of the world community. While the nation tried to enter into the world order, the region also experienced its outcomes. It was inevitable now for the region to enter into the panoply of the new horizon. Thus, for Atiranippadam, changes came naturally as seen in the passage given below:

Near the road, engulfed in the noise made by mills and motor workshops, a new restaurant could be seen. An aluminium board carrying the picture of a huge red bottle is placed near the entrance the advertisement of Coca- Cola! Bharatmata teashop were once delicious biriyani was served seems to be a part of some distant dream. Bharatmata has gone. The memories of biriyani have faded away today Tashkent, Prawns Pulao and Coca- Cola occupy its place. (567) The advertisement of Coca-Cola displayed in front of the restaurant where the Bharatmata teashop once stood speaks volumes. The space that a global brand occupies in a region like Atiranippadam is indicative of the local merging with the national and the global. The huge advertisement of Coca-Cola is indicative of a lot of factors that contributed to the tremendous changes that occurred in the life of the nation. The years of Nehruvian vision of economy saw the rise of a mixed economy at home. The years also witnessed the countrys involvement with all available partners from the foreign world and the socialist countries like the U. S. S. R. The fact that the three steel plants built in the country during this period were based upon collaboration with one socialist country, the Soviet Union, and two capitalist democracies, Britain and Federal Germany, indicates the emergence of a global outlook in the industrial programme of the country. Though the earlier attitude of the country was inward-looking owing to the idealistic spirit imbibed from the nationalist movement which emphasized on Swadeshi, the entry of the country into the global arena and subsequent forging of relationships with other countries were necessitated by the countrys existence as a nation-state. The country opened its doors to globalization in the early 1990s only. What happened before which led to the arrival of

global giants into an economy like that of India leads us through the alley where the buds of neocolonialism was slowly sprouting. The upper strata of Indian population was much larger than the population of several imperialist countries, in spite of the lack of purchasing power of the broad masses of people. Thus the Indian market was attractive to MNCs and their

compradors. In course of time foreign capital that penetrated into the vital sectors of the economy under the cover of tariff and protection reaped huge profits from the production of a variety of consumer goods. Ultimately this led to a worsening of the balance of payments and deepening dependence of the country on neocolonial institutions, while domestically aggravating social and regional inequalities. Criticism apart, the realities of the time showed that India was entering the neocolonial phase. The Indian market remained attractive to the multinational corporations and global giants of which Coca-Cola is a representative. The advertisement of Coca- Cola leads the thoughts of Sreedharan to another direction, emphasizing on the global reach the instruments and institutions of neocolonialism enjoy. While he was in Egypt, Sreedharan came across one such advertisement of Coca-Cola. The image of Coca- Cola placed near the Sphinx fails to leave his memory and he is not at all surprised at seeing the same advertisement in Atiranippadam also. Sreedharan was not surprised at the incarnation of cola in the old Atiranippadam. Sixteen years ago, Right before the Sphinx in Egypt, a deserted place where not even grass sprout, a huge board displaying CocaCola invited the tourists who were burning with thirst, Sreedharan recalled. Along with the Sphinx, the image of Coca-Cola still remains etched in memory. (567)

Coca- Cola cut across geographical boundaries and cultural borders to became the worlds most powerful brand. From Egypt in Africa to Atiranippadam in India, a brand like Coca- Cola has spread its arms. It was in the year 1956 that Coca- Cola came to India. The Indian market was witnessing the arrival of neocolonialism through the entry of multinational corporations. The hold that the global brands had over India led to widespread criticism and the country was not fully opened to the global economy. It was only in 1991 that India opened its doors fully to the world economy. Coca- Cola controlled the entire soft drink industry of India till 1977 only to return in 1993.Jennife Kaye writes in Coca- Cola India, Coca- Cola was the leading soft drink brand in India until 1977 when it left rather than reveal its formula to the government and reduce its equity stake as required under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act ( FERA) which goverened the operations of foreign companies in India. After a 16year absence Coca- cola returned to India in 1993, cementing its presence with a deal that gave Coca- Cola ownership of the nations top soft drink brands and bottling network . (3- 4) The advertisement of Coca- Cola symbolizes the globes mediation with the nation as well as the region. The economic policies formulated by the government of India led to basic changes in the structure of the regional economy. Atiranippadam is no exception. The region, mediated through the nation enters into the global arena with or without its consent. Bharatmata teashop of the past does not belong to the present and the future of the country. Bharatmata has gone, says Sreedharan (567). The notion of Bharatmata which evolved during the time of nationalist struggles, when located in the context of a region like Atiranippadam, far removed from the ideological implications it possess, becomes the symbol of the feeling of nationalism

that went deep into the mindscape of the region. Indigenous food items are replaced by foreign recipes. The foreign flavour that pervades the entire atmosphere smells of neocolonialism and of cultural imperialism. The teenager who walks around in tight pants and terylene shirt whistles some American rock and roll tune, is a representative of the times. Just as Sreedharan stands between a past with seething memories of the struggle against imperialism and a present where the nation- state is in the state of an endless process of becoming, the teenager stands for the preset state which is marked by the re- entry of colonialism in a new form. The Americanised youth of Atiranippadam is the representative of the new era dominated by cultural imperialism. He drinks Coca- Cola, wears western wear, and sings western pop tunes. Increasing integration of the country with imperialist market led to the creation of new identities inscribed with imprints of neocolonial agendas including cultural imperialism. It becomes imperative in this context to recall Herbert Schillers seminal definition of cultural imperialism. Herbert Schiller provided his seminal definition of cultural imperialism as: . . . the sum of the process by which a society is brought into the modern world system and how its dominating stratum is attracted, pressured, forced, and sometimes even bribed into shaping social institutions to correspond to or even promote, the values and structures of the dominating centre of the system (9). The aspects of the society that S. K. Pottekkatt tries to bring forth in the novel Oru Deshathinte Kadha analyse the most significant chapter in the life of the nation- state, the era of nation building.While the novel Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum affirmed the positive outlook the Indian nation along with the region had in the early fifties, Oru Deshathinte Kadha examines the engagement of the nation with the region through various strategies and the outcome of this engagement. What happened to the spirit of idealism that led to the creation of a beautiful garden, with promises of a new life in the novel Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum seems to be the

lingering question that lurks on the pages of Oru Deshathinte Kadha. The story of the region, as written by the nation- state is the primary concern that S. K. Pottekkatt tries to bring forth in his novel.