Introduction of the Novel:
“Fire on the Mountain” is a 1977 novel by Anita Desai that deals with the subjects of solitude, existentialism, and oppression of females in patriarchal Indian society. The concern of psychological reality by Anita Desai is clearly reflected in one of her masterpieces “Fire on the Mountain”. The novel mainly deals with the loneliness and isolation as well as the resultant anguish and agony in the deserted life of an old widow.
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| Novel, Fire on the Mountain, Brief Summary |
Summary of the Novel:
The Retired Life of Nanda Kaul:
After reading the story of the novel, ‘Fire on the Mountain’ written by Anita Desai we find that there are three parts. The first part is related to the life and thoughts of Nanda Kaul. In the second part we read about the character of Raka. The third part is about Ila Das. Nanda Kaul had come to live her retired life at Carignano in Kasauli to pass her remaining life as a hermit. She had passed her childhood and youth very comfortably and with high spirits in Kashmir at the bank of Dal Lake in their own house. They used to sail in the Shikaras in that Dal Lake.
They had a zoo in their house having a Himalayan Bear which her father had caught when it was a cub. There were also tiger - cats, dogs, monkeys and parrots. She had lived a comfortable life after her marriage because her husband used to love her deeply with great regard for her. Her husband was the vice - chancellor, living in a big Bungalow with several servants. A large number of guests used to visit them.
Nanda Kaul had a very busy schedule because she looked after her children and guests very carefully. She felt tired in the evening after doing all her duties. After her children had settled and her husband had died, she thought of retirement after completing all her duties. Then she asked herself, “Have I not done enough and had enough? I want no more. I want nothing, can I not be left without nothing.” She was happy because she had enjoyed her life in full, so she did not want to do anything more. At last she retired to a lonely place, Kasauli in order to get her mental peace in the midst of Nature. She was very happy to be left alone by her own sons who had already settled well in their life.
The Arrival of Raka with her grandmother, Nanda Kaul:
One day Nanda Kaul received a letter from her daughter, Asha informing her that she was sending her daughter, Raka to live with her under compelling circumstances. The old lady could p say no to the request of her daughter, Asha because she had no other alternative. Her daughter Tara was going to Geneva to improve her relations with her husband Rakesh, so she could not take Raka with her who was not well at that time. Asha herself was going to Mumbai for an important work.
Nanda Kaul had her difficulties when she unwillingly kept Raka in her house whose face was not round like the Moon. Then she did not know how she should rear that little girl, so she consulted her servant, Ramlal but he also had no idea about it. Then he said that he would make potato chips for Raka. Nanda Kaul could not imagine from where she should get toys for Raka who was also to be fed, looked after and sent to bed.
Nanda Kaul had many duties to do along with she was fascinated by the different aspects of Nature. The girl was truly a child of Nature, so she made her absence from the house suddenly and silently without troubling her grandmother because Raka was altogether a different child without any interest in human society.
Raka's Love for Nature and for Animals:
Raka had deep love for Nature including the hills around. She watched the storm rising and spreading upto the Monkey Point, and she also enjoyed the flow of the shining river water. She also liked the Lake at Chandigarh.
Raka had deep love for animals also. She felt gentle and delicate emotions in her heart after seeing the animals. Ramlal picked up a stone to throw at the monkey mother but Raka stopped him from doing so. Nanda Kaul was much surprised to know about the delicate emotions of Raka for the birds.
Her grandmother was impressed to note a new image of Raka finding her a different girl from others. She found her a genius, having some greatness of her grandmother in her character. She said to her, “Raka, you really are a great grandchild of mine. Aren't you? You are like me than any of my children or grandchildren; you are exactly like me, Raka.” But, in fact Raka was ahead of her because she did not show any interest in life. Nanda Kaul retired in old age but Raka had become hermit like in her childhood. The grandmother tried to make her like other children but with no result. The grandmother asked Raka if she would go to a boarding school at Sanawar but the little girl refused because she found the Nature far better which could teach her more than a school teacher.
Nanda Kaul wished to make a will but she could not find a worthy lawyer. She did like to be left alone but Raka was closely related to her. In the beginning, Nanda Kaul accepted Raka unwillingly but then she was unwilling to let her go away.
Meeting with Ila Das:
The third part of the novel shows the life of Ila Das who had been with Nanda Kaul in school and college. Ila said to Raka, “I've known your great grandmother for - oh, how many years is it now? Well, I'm not going to bore you by counting them - I am not really sure I can count them but when one's known anyone that long, you know one is practically related.” Nanda Kaul also recollected that she and Ila Das had played together as children with children's games. They went to school together.
It is necessary to mention that Ila Das was an unfortunate child and she was short in size. When she sat on the small chair of Raka, her feet hung into the air her head was also turned and her voice was horrible like a tom - cat. Her gait was also strange and it looked odd to others. She felt unhappy when others taunted at her. In the classroom the teachers did not like to hear her voice when she liked to sing a poem.
Careless Brothers:
She was not only deformed but her life was also shapeless by her cruel Fate. She was born in a rich family having five children, three sons and two daughters. The sons were strong but Ila and her sister Rima were weak and deformed. The father had sent his sons abroad for their studies but they did not attend even a single lecture but they started drinking. They fell ill and wasted their money on horses which never won. They borrowed money from everyone. As a result of this their father had to sell his horse, his carriage and even his house to return the debt which his sons had incurred. It is necessary to mention that no son came when the father had died because they knew that their father had left nothing for them. They quarrelled with their mother and sisters for the jewellery that was left with them. The family had to live in the rented house.
Ila and Rima started earning bread and looking after their ill mother. They started working hard patiently. Rima gave piano lessons from house to house and nursed her mother at home. Ila got a job in the Home, Science College with the help of the Nanda, Kaul's husband who was the Vice Chancellor yet they faced many more difficulties. Rima stopped getting students in piano lessons because pop music had become very common, so she became jobless. Their past governess, Mrs. Wright gave her a spare bedroom in the corner of her flat and Ila sent money for her boarding and lodging. Soon after Ila also lost her job because the new vice chancellor turned her out of her job. Nanda Kaul advised Ila to do a course in social service and it helped her to get the job of a social welfare officer.
Ila was raped and killed:
The job of a social welfare officer was challenging when she was posted in the hills near Kasauli. There the people were illiterate orthodox and reactionary. The people starved if their cows did not give, milk, or their potato crop was destroyed. Their miseries increased when the priest misguided the poor and the ignorant people because nobody showed them the light of reason. For example, the little son of Maya Devi had died because the priest had advised her against getting him anti - sceptic injection for the cut he had made in his foot by putting it on a rusty pail. Ila Das had advised her to take the child to the doctor but the priest had told her that “the injections were the work of the devil,” and she should not take her child to the doctor Secondly, the children who suffered from conjunctivitis or trachoma were not taken to the doctor but they were treated with red chilli powder or cow dung. Child marriages were very common among those illiterate people. For example, Preet Singh wanted to marry his minor daughter to a rich landowner who had made a rich offer for her. He was a widower and he had six children. She tried that he should not marry that minor because she could not become indifferent spectator of the sufferings of the ignorant people. Then she said to Nanda Kaul, I have been brought up a Christian and to see these poor, ignorant people grovel in the dust before their wretched little oil - smeared, tinsel decked idols, gives me a turn. O oh, I'll say it does. And that oily, priest man we have slinking about our village I can tell he's up to no good.” Ila tried to have people out she got their hatred, not their love. Preet Singh was so angry with her that one day he caught her on the way, raped her and killed her. That was the reward which she had got for a good social work.
Nanda Kaul and Raka were deeply shocked:
P.K. Shukla, police officer incharge, Gorkhal thana informed Nand Kaul that Ila Das had been raped and killed and that her body was found on the path to the village Timarpur. She was deeply shocked and she dropped the telephone saying “With her head thrown back she gasped No, it is a lie: It cannot be! It was a lie—Ila was not raped, not dead. It was all a lie! all.” She could not believe all that by losing faith in everything even in her ownself. Everything was a big lie for her. She had her wish for freedom from the bonds of the world and she desired to become one with Nature. Raka was also badly hurt with the news of Ila's rape and murder.