Yamarāja and satire in Indian postcolonial Hindi literature, movies and performing arts

Abstract

This paper attempts to analyse the satirical adaptations and uses of the symbolism associated with Yamarāja, the Hindu and Buddhist god of death and justice (Parry 2015: 625-626) within postcolonial Hindi cultural sphere. The first area of investigation concerns Hindi literature, specifically the satirical production of authors writing in the period spanning from the 1950s to the present day. Authors who have written narratives about Yamarāja belong to the literary tendency known as Nayi kahani (“New Short Stories”) (de Brujin 2003; Mandhwani 2024; Mani 2019; Singh 2016). More recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, columnists have used this character to narrate aspects of Indian society during the spread of the pandemic. The research will focus particularly on the literary works of Hariśaṅkar Parsāī, and on the satirical columns published by Alok Saksena during the pandemic. In a more cursory way, the paper also considers the ‘refractions’ (Lefevere, 1982a, 1982b, 1992) of the literary symbolism associated with Yamarāja in Indian films and performing arts. It also examines how new media are currently redefining this character for various socio-cultural purposes. The aim of the paper is to answer the following theoretical questions: 1) What comic and humorous aesthetics have generally been associated with this figure during the postcolonial period? What socio-cultural values are embodied through the use of this character?  If, as recent literature on the pandemic argues, humour and satire are important tools for ‘re-adapting’ the self during periods of collective and individual trauma, how has the representation of this figure also embodied ‘therapeutic’ and psychological functions? In answering this set of questions, the article draws on recent theories developed by humour studies (Declercq, 2021; Zekavat, 2017, 2021, 2022) and literature focusing on the relationship between narrativisation of trauma and humour (Garrick, 2006).