George Bernard Shaw and Dr. Mu. Va- A Comparative Study

About the Author Dr. A.K Ramabushanam started his teaching career in 1961 as Professor of English at Pachaiyappa's College, Chennai. After serving there for 35 years, teaching English language and literature at the U.G., P.G., and research levels, he joined T.S. Narayanaswamy College of Arts and Science, Chennai as Professor of English and currently he is the Dean of that College. A post graduate in English from the University of Madras, he got his M. Litt., and Ph.D., degrees from the same University. He was also Visiting Professor of English at Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (Deemed University) A.P. He also served as Professor of English at M.S. Ramaiah College of Arts, Science and Commerce, MSR College of Law, MSR Institute of Nursing and Research and Nijalingappa College, Bangalore.

He has produced 40 M.Phil, and Ph.D., Research Scholars at the University of Madras and authored many academic books, to name a few : 1 Great Women of India, 2. Human Values Through English Prose, 3. Crucible : A ‘Value Smith', 4. Thought waves, 5. Foot Print. Some of these books have been prescribed as Text books for B.A., B.Sc., B.Com, in 4 Universities of Tamilnadu.

His special interest is acting, playwriting and direction. He has made a documentary Tele-Film in English and Tamil on "Pachaiyappa the Philanthropist" which was telecast on Madras Doordarshan in 1996. He is a linguist; knows Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and Urdu.

Foreword Comparative literature is a study of literature independent of linguistic, ethnic and geographical boundaries. It conceives that literature is one, just as art and humanity are one. But it tries to show whether there has been any contact between writers of different countries and whether one writer has influenced the other. Dr. MU.VA. was influenced by certain Western writers in his fictional and other writings. How are we to establish that? Here comes the work of a genuine researcher.

A.K. Ramabushanam who has collected enough data on the two writers and interpreted them with critical and scholarly tools, as a true researcher, had gone through the dust-coated and moth eaten pages of Pachaiyappa's College Literary book borrowers registers from 1945-1957 to establish that Dr. MU.VA. was a voracious reader of Shaw and he had been eagerly borrowing Shaw's works from the college library for more than a decade from 1945-1957.

In the introductory chapter the author makes us see Shaw through Dr. MU.VA's Arignar Bernard Shaw, a lively introductory essay in Tamil, a mixture of biography and criticism.

In chapter III the author discusses how Shaw and MU.VA. wrote with a missionary zeal, and not as a profession. He also establishes how in their hands art became a means of illuminating and enhancing the quality of life. According to Marx, philosophers have so far only interpreted the world; it is not enough; we must change it. Both Shaw and MU.VA. have attempted to change life through their writings.

Preface I thank the Almighty for making me an instrument in bringing out this book which is a thesis titled "The Influence of George Bernard Shaw on the writings of I)r. M. Varadarajan (MU.VA.)," which I submitted to the University of Madras for the award of the degree of Master of Letters in English in 1980.

I am greatly indebted to Professor A.M. Paramasivanandam, former Professor and Head, Department of Tamil, Pachaiyappa's College, Chennai, and T. Prabhakar, former Professor and Head of the English Department, University of Madras, who jointly supervised my research project. I am also much indebted to my revered teacher Professor W.V. Venkat Rao, former Professor and Head of the Department of English, Pachaiyappa's College, Chennai, who not only corrected my script but also offered me constructive suggestions in giving final shape to my thesis. I thank my friend and colleague Prof. A.K. Kandasamy Sah, who read my first draft and gave me helpful suggestions.

V. Sachithanandan, former Professor and Head of Department of English, Madurai University, in his research paper titled Dr. M. Varadarajan and Somerset Maugham as Novelists: A sample study states that no serious attempt has been made to study the literary indebtedness of I)r. M. Varadarajan (1912-1974) to Western writers, though he has discussed the thoughts and works of many of them in his fictional and other writings. The present study is a humble attempt to trace the indebtedness of Dr. M. Varadarajan (MU.VA.) to George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950).

Book's Contents and Sample Pages