MsoNormal">‘Javni’ is the tale of a poor and illiterate woman who
belongs to a low caste of washer man in
the remote
village of Karnataka.
She serves as a domestic help in the house of a revenue inspector. There are
three main characters in the story,
Ramappa, the narrator of the story, Sita,
his sister and the mistress of Javni and Javni, the main protagonist of the
story. The most striking thing in the story is that all the three characters in
the story are very human, genuine, loving and caring still there is much scope
of inhumanity, cruelty, and pathos that churns the hearts of the readers and
compels them to review their ideologies whether they need some corrections.
MsoNormal">Javni is a middle aged woman of 40 years whose personal life
is a tale of unending miseries and sorrows. Her husband dies untimely due to
the snakebite and after his death Javni is exposed to the uttermost hardships
of life to face bravely. After her husband’s death Javni’s in laws insult her
and turn her out of their house. Javni seeks shelter in her brother’s house
where even more abuses, insults and miseries are waiting for her to greet.
Javni’s brother’s wife never allows her children to go near Javni because she
considers her a cursed woman and she fears that she would cast some spell on
her children and might bewitch them. But the youngest boy loves Javni a lot and
she too is deeply attached with him. She always saves her money and eatables whatever
she gets from Sita to share with him as she does not have her own children.
Javni is full of love
for everyone around her. She is a simpleton by heart. She is a lively person
and always enjoys in the juicy gossips of village folks. She keeps her mistress
Sita amused by telling her the stories of the entire village. She is extremely
religious and also believes in ghosts and evil spirits. She madly adores
Ramappa. She is charmed by his handsomeness and thinks him to be an incarnation
of some God. This is the height of devotion Javni has for her masters. She
feels proud that she has the opportunity to serve a high caste Brahmin family
who belongs to the upper most strata of the society. For Javni being a revenue
inspector is the ultimate job for anyone and even for Ramappa she cannot think
that he can be other than a revenue inspector in future. Javni evokes sympathy
and respect for her forbearance, simplicity and large heartedness. She always
prays Goddess Talkamma for well being and prosperity of everyone around her
even for her in laws who always looked upon her with great hatred and
disrespect.
‘Javni’ is a great story which hits strongly on the caste
system prevalent in the society of those times. Ramappa is the chief instrument
in the story who hits on the vice of caste system very effectively. He is a
kind, sympathetic, educated and compassionate person with a liberal and
progressive outlook. He is infuriated and deeply hurt by the inhuman behavior
of his sister when he finds that Sita has made Javni eat her food in the dark
byre amidst the foul smelling cows and their filth only because she belongs to
a low caste and therefore cannot eat inside the house. Although Sita is very
kind and friendly with Javni and loves her a lot but still she is very much
bound to the religious bonds and traditions prevalent in the society and has no
courage to defy them. The unfortunate incident drives Sita and Ramappa to a
heated argument and finally Sita bursts in the pool of tears and Ramappa
retires to the garden highly ashamed and disgusted. In utter desperation and
dismay tearfully he wonders when will the Conch of Knowledge would blow and
when will the God would come to end this misery and ignorance.
Ramappa is highly touched by Javni’s unadulterated
adoration, dedication and devotion for her masters. She bears no malice for
anyone in her heart. Javni’s faithfulness for her masters is so genuine and
unalloyed that without slightest hesitation she willingly agrees to give her
entire savings to Ramappa. Her generosity steals his heart. He is deeply
shocked to know that how low she is paid off for her strenuous work. Ramappa’s
respect for Javni can be easily felt when he asks Javni to adopt him as her
son. He honestly wants to serve her and give her all the comforts as a son. Javni is dumbfounded by the blasphemous
statement of Ramappa. She is frightened because being a Brahmin Ramappa is a
chosen one and the twice born. He is not meant for work. The very thought of
adopting Ramappa as her son is very perplexing for Javni because Ramappa is a
God for Javni and how she can adopt a God? Scared Javni prays Goddess Talkamma
to forgive Ramappa for his childishness. The story ends with the final adieu of
the revenue inspector’s family when they leave the village forever leaving
Javni crying inconsolably on the other side of the river.
The story is relevant in modern times also as this kind of
caste system is still prevalent in some parts of rural India and the Blowing of
the Conch of Knowledge is very much awaited there.