Burmese Days-George Orwell

****/*****                                                                                                                                               Novel

Burmese Days

George Orwell

There is no dearth of fiction on British Raj. George Orwell’s Burmese Days would probably rank amongst the best. Few will be able to rival this in the description of the seedy and sordid effect of Raj on the natives and the British alike.

With deep understanding which can be acquired only out of personal experience -Orwell was born in India and served for six years in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma- Orwell relates the travails of John Flory in Burma who is employed as a Manager in a Teak Plantation. Orwell narrates the Flory saga with a raw sensitivity; the utterly miserable life of an expatriate in the backwaters of British Empire. Story unfolds in Kyauktada a small settlement in Northern Burma on the banks of River Irawady, home to an English Club which is patronized by six English ‘Pucca Sahibs and Memsahibs’. For close to twenty years Flory has lived a lonely life of dissipation, solitude and debauchery in Burma. Though once he pined for England, now for long he has accepted Burma as his home. He hates the snobbish, self-important life which English lead in British Colonies. The pettiness, the narrowness and the hackneyed pattern of this existence infuriates him. He will not condemn a whole race of the natives as lower beings only because of the colour of their skins. He feels there are many intelligent and good men amongst natives as there are many fools and dullards amongst British. He finds the company of the former much more exhilarating. But he lacks courage to defend his beliefs in public when his countrymen ridicule him for harbouring such unconventional views. An ugly birth mark across his face has not only scarred his physique but has dwarfed his sense of self-worth and overshadows all his dealings with his fellow countrymen.

Novel is a riveting account of Flory’s attempts to break out of the mold of a ‘Pucca Sahib’ image of an English living in the British Empire in the East. It’s a sad, tragic tale of one man’s endeavors to seek freedom from the confines in which destiny has placed him, from a station in life which is his only because of the colour of his skin and the country of his birth. With deft skill Orwell narrates this tale of inner conflict raging in Flory’s mind. It’s a difficult subject, but the smooth effortless narrative style, unostentatious and lucid prose and author’s dexterity in dealing with difficult and complex human emotions makes this complex story a page turner. Story is told so realistically that it reads like an autobiography. Even the name ‘Burmese Days’ sounds like the title of a Memoir.

This is a memorable book, a rejuvenating and stimulating read and a marvelous achievement as the first book of an author.

Mar 2010