Raag Darbari

infobox Book |
name = Rag Darbari
title_orig =
translator = Gillian Wright


image_caption =
author = Sri Lal Sukla
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = India
language = Hindi
series =
genre =
publisher = Penguin Books Ltd (Translation)
pub_date =
english_pub_date = April 15, 2003
media_type = Print
pages =
isbn = ISBN 8126704780 (First edition)
preceded_by =
followed_by =

Rag Darbari is one of the most famous Hindi novels written by Sri Lal Sukla, an author known for his social and political satire. He was awarded the Sahitya Academy Award, the highest Indian literary award, in 1970 for this novel.

Plot introduction

The novel highlights the failing values present in post-Independence Indian society. It exposes the helplessness of intellectuals in the face of a strong and corrupt nexus between criminals, businessmen, police and politicians.

The novel is narrated from the point of view of Ranganath, a research student in history, who comes to live with his uncle, Vaidyaji, in a village named Shivpal Ganj for a few months. He learns how his uncle uses all the the village institutions -- the village school, the village panchayat (a local elected body), the local government offices, etc. -- for his political purpose. The conduct of his uncle and the petty village politicians is in stark contrast to the ideals that Ranganath has learnt to aspire to during his university education.

The villagers take pride in calling themselves 'gunjahe', originating from 'ganj' of 'Shivpal ganj'.

Characters

Following is a list of some of the important characters in the book:

Vaidyaji: He is the mastermind behind all village politics. Very articulate in framing his sentences and choosing his words, Vaidyaji is also officially the manager of the local college.

Ruppan babu: The younger son of Vaidyaji and the leader of college students Ruppan babu has remained in the 10th grade the past many years, in the same college in which his father is manager.Ruppan babu is actively involved in all village politics and is well respected in the village community due to his illustrious parentage. Towards the end of the novel a gradual change can be observed in his behaviour which can be attributed due to influence of Ranganath.

Badri pehelwaan: Elder brother of Ruppan babu. Badri keeps himself away from his fathers involvements and keeps himself busy in his body building exercises and taking care of his 'paalak baalak'(a term widely used for blind followers of a person - protege in refined English)

Ranganath: An MA in History, Ranganath is the nephew to Vidyaji. He has come to Shivpalganj on a vacation for about 5-6 months. It appears that the author wants to give the view of the pathetic condition in the villages through the eyes of an educated person.

Chotte pehelwaan: one of the 'paalak baalaks' of Badri pehelwaan, Chotte is an active participant in village politics and is a frequent participant in the meetings summoned by Vaidyaji.

Principal sahab: As the name denotes, Principal sahab is the principal of the college. His relations with other members of the staff in colelge, forms an important part of the plot.

Khanna master: One of the teachers in the college, he is up in arms against Principal sahab.

Jognath: the local goon, almost always drunk and speaks a unique language by inserting an "F" in between every 2 syllables.

Sanichar: His real name is Mangaldas but people refer him as sanichar.He is like a servant to Vaidyaji.He was later made the puppet pradhaan(leader) of village by the use of political tactics from Vaidyaji.

Langad: He is a representative of the hapless common man who has to bend in front of the corrupt government system even to get small things done.