Review of Ganga (1960) by Marion S — 27 Jun 2014

This is the story of a few English families living on the banks of the Ganga in Bengal during the colonial era who are tasked by the British Raj to run the jute trade. This familiar setting invokes several cliches in our minds and Renoir sets about transcending each of them. To start with, the narrator's father who supervises the jute trade is a gentle soul. He is not the typical penny pinching capitalist but someone who finds the never ending 'river' of human beings carrying jute from farm to factory, fascinating. His interactions with locals both in and not in his employment show us how he believes in equality, respect and co-existence. The family takes after him and his 'house full of women' has embraced a new culture with open arms without any fear of losing their own. The family celebrates Indian festivals, mingles freely with the locals and experiences the great spiritual seduction that India is.

The metaphor of the river as a symbol of the infiniteness of creation with its unending cycles of creation and destruction is exemplary. The family experiences the permanence of the river and contrasts the transitory nature of their existence with it. The pains and joys of life that are experienced uniquely by each one of the three women are so different and yet so similar! Some of us get a kiss on the lips, others a kiss on the forehead and others remain with unrequited desires and confused emotions. And yet, like the change of seasons we all bloom and flourish and we all perish in the end while the cycle of life goes on.

So what should we do given this human condition that we've been subjected to? Like all great artists, Renoir attempts to answer this most enigmatic and intriguing question. 'The River' proposes 'Consent'. It seems to whisper gently to our worried minds and torrid hearts to accept the ebb and tide of our existence, to not quarrel, to not revolt (What we think of as revolts are really tiny quarrels when you look at our insignificance and the enormousness of creation). The message here is to accept, to open our eyes and for the first time watch without resentment, to observe and learn from nature. As we follow nature's course intently we might get bitten by a snake and die a swift death or a new insight will turn the course of our lives and push us in another unfamiliar direction.

Sitting on the banks, witnessing the course of the river and that of our existence, Renoir tells us that all is not lost. That this journey, however short or insignificant it might be, contains the potential to experience limitless joy and beauty - the innocence of children, the pleasure of creating new life, the camaraderie of good friendship and above all love for another person no matter how flawed or imperfect they are.