Explain the picture of the new middle class families, which the novel Pariksha Gum portrays.
Answer:
- Srinivas Das’s novel published in 1882, was titled Pariksha Guru. It cautioned young men of well-
- to-do families against the dangerous influences of bad company and consequent loose morals.
- The world of colonial modernity seems to be both frightening and irresistible to the characters.
- In the novel, we see the characters attempting to bridge two different worlds through the actions they take.
- They adopted new agricultural technology, modernised trading practices, changed the use of Indian languages, making them capable of transmitting both western sciences and Indian wisdom.
- The young were urged to cultivate the ‘healthy habit’ of reading the newspapers.
- But the novel emphasised that all this must be achieved without sacrificing the traditional values of middle class household.