The Cat and Shakespeare by Raja Rao - Critical Analysis

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      In the book The Cat and Shakespeare, author Raja Rao offers answer to the philosophical questions. A metaphysical novel in the truest sense the novel is an illustrious creation by Raja Rao. The cat represents the Hindu concept of karma.

"The Cat and Shakespeare" is a gentle, almost teasing, fable of two friends by the legendary author Raja Rao
The Cat and Shakespeare

      "The Cat and Shakespeare" is a gentle, almost teasing, fable of two friends by the legendary author Raja Rao. This story has an excellent presentation. A brilliant craftsman shows the raw texture of Indian life in this plain spoken and humorous tale. Raja Rao is a major novelist of this age, and this book is the most mature of his novels. This can be called as a refreshingly different novel. In this novel the conversation of two friends are narrated very nicely. Govindan Nair is a sharp, down-to-earth philosopher and clerk, who tackle the problems of routine living with, extraordinary, commonsense and zest, and whose refreshing and unorthodox conclusions continually panic Ramakrishna Pai. This person is Nair's friend, neighbour and also the narrator of the story. Descriptions of daily concerns are compassionate and evocative as well.

      An answer to the concept of Hindu karma, Raja Rao's "Cat and Shakespeare is a metaphysical novel where the Indian philosophy ideally blends with the western thoughts. English is somewhat "de anglicised" and creatively unified with Sanskrit chants. The indo European affinity between Sanskrit and English is nicely braided in this novel whilst making the Sanskrit rhythm to gel well the sophistication of English."

      Cat and Shakespeare was published in 1965 by Raja Rao is a metaphysical comedy that answered philosophical questions posed in the earlier novels.

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