The Vagaries of Faith: Rise of a Saint and its Human Cost in Kiran Nagarkar’s Cuckold

Sarfaraz Ahmad Farooque

Sarfaraz Ahmad Farooque Research Scholar, The University of Lucknow

Keywords: Bhakti Movement, Saint Meera Bai, Lord Krishna, Cuckold, Rajput Kingdom

Abstract

This research paper aims to analyze the cost of the rise of a saint in a family in Kiran Nagarkar’s novel Cuckold. This novel is situated in the era of the Bhakti movement and is based on the life of Bhakti mystic saint Meera Bai and her Husband. Bhakti Movement, an important part of Indian history, is characterized by an extreme love and devotion of god by a devotee who renounces everything to be one with God. This paper is an analysis of how a person, through extreme love and devotion, gradually rises from an ordinary human being to a celebrated saint and its effect on the people who are connected to them. These effects are political, social, and psychological. The protagonist, Maharaj Kumar, who is the crown prince of the great Rajput kingdom in Indian History, becomes a microcosmic example of all the people who have made sacrifices, willingly or unwillingly, for a higher cause of the family member who has become a saint.

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Author Biography

Sarfaraz Ahmad Farooque, Research Scholar, The University of Lucknow

Sarfaraz A. Farooque is a Research Scholar in the Department of English and Modern European Languages at the University of Lucknow. He has qualified WBCSC and NESLET. He has also obtained a CELTA certification from Cambridge English. He has taught English language and literature at undergraduate and graduate levels. His research interests include English fiction by authors of Indian origin and Indian folk literature.

References

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