Crossing the Black Water Nirad c n V S Naipaul
Crossing the B l a c k Waters:
N i r a d C . C h a u d h u r i ' s A Passage to E n g l a n d and V . S. Naipaul's A n A r e a of Darkness
A L A S TAIR
I
NIVEN
N 1955 N i r a d C h a u d h u r i made his first v i s i t outside
India and i n 1962 V . S. N a i p a u l went to I n d i a for the first t i m e . B o t h men were established w r i t e r s , practiced i n h u m a n observation and yet possessing an innately p a t r i c i a n sense of t h e i r o w n d i s t i n c t i o n . I n v i e w i n g t h e i r o w n societies they h a d been trenchant w h e n not caustic, at a l l times provocative a n d sometimes perverse.
After
t h e i r journeys abroad they brought the same qualities to the books t h e y w r o t e about t h e i r visits, C h a u d h u r i i n A
Passage To England a n d N a i p a u l i n An Area of Darkness." T h e i r methods w e r e s i m i l a r : to w r i t e i n p o r t r a i t f o r m a series of short essays a n a l y s i n g w h a t t h e y saw a n d accounting for t h e i r own reactions to it. C h a u d h u r i was fifty-seven w h e n he left I n d i a for the first t i m e for a n eight-week v i s i t to E u r o p e , five weeks i n E n g l a n d , two i n
P a r i s a n d one i n Rome. I n the " P l e a f o r the B o o k " , as he c h a r m i n g l y christens the preface t o A Passage
To
England, he tells us that he celebrated the threethousandth week of h i s life at the end of his tour. N a i p a u l was only t h i r t y w h e n he traced his ancestral footsteps back to India, a n islander i n a sub-continent, a n d i t m a y be t h a t t h e i r contrasting ages has m u c h to do w i t h the different attitudes w i t h w h i c h they approached t h e i r new experiences. A comparison between the two w r i t e r s , masters both of the i m p e r i a l l y endowed language i n w h i c h they w r i t e , has more t h a n a tenuous r a c i a l v i n d i c a t i o n , for i f t h e i r casts of m i n d are often different they share
N i r a d C . C h a u d h u r i ' s A Passage to E n g l a n d and V . S. Naipaul's A n A r e a of Darkness
A L A S TAIR
I
NIVEN
N 1955 N i r a d C h a u d h u r i made his first v i s i t outside
India and i n 1962 V . S. N a i p a u l went to I n d i a for the first t i m e . B o t h men were established w r i t e r s , practiced i n h u m a n observation and yet possessing an innately p a t r i c i a n sense of t h e i r o w n d i s t i n c t i o n . I n v i e w i n g t h e i r o w n societies they h a d been trenchant w h e n not caustic, at a l l times provocative a n d sometimes perverse.
After
t h e i r journeys abroad they brought the same qualities to the books t h e y w r o t e about t h e i r visits, C h a u d h u r i i n A
Passage To England a n d N a i p a u l i n An Area of Darkness." T h e i r methods w e r e s i m i l a r : to w r i t e i n p o r t r a i t f o r m a series of short essays a n a l y s i n g w h a t t h e y saw a n d accounting for t h e i r own reactions to it. C h a u d h u r i was fifty-seven w h e n he left I n d i a for the first t i m e for a n eight-week v i s i t to E u r o p e , five weeks i n E n g l a n d , two i n
P a r i s a n d one i n Rome. I n the " P l e a f o r the B o o k " , as he c h a r m i n g l y christens the preface t o A Passage
To
England, he tells us that he celebrated the threethousandth week of h i s life at the end of his tour. N a i p a u l was only t h i r t y w h e n he traced his ancestral footsteps back to India, a n islander i n a sub-continent, a n d i t m a y be t h a t t h e i r contrasting ages has m u c h to do w i t h the different attitudes w i t h w h i c h they approached t h e i r new experiences. A comparison between the two w r i t e r s , masters both of the i m p e r i a l l y endowed language i n w h i c h they w r i t e , has more t h a n a tenuous r a c i a l v i n d i c a t i o n , for i f t h e i r casts of m i n d are often different they share