Significance of the title of “A Passage to India”

“Passage to India!
Lo, Soul; sees’t thou God’s purpose from the first?
………….
Passage O soul to India,
Eclaircise the myths Asiatic, the primitive fables.
………….
Passage indeed O soul to primal thought…….”
--- Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman in his poem Passage to India wants the soul to take a journey to
India for further advance. The ‘passage’ that Forster explores is also a similar
journey. Like Whitman’s cry: “Passage to more than India”, Forster’s novel is more
than a historical novel about India; it is a prophetic work in which Forster is
concerned not only with the path to greater understanding of India but also with
man’s quest for truth and understanding about the universe he lives in.
The Three Levels of Meaning:
In the little word, ‘passage’ has three levels of meaning explored through three
successive levels of the story – political and racial tension, symbolic landscape and
religious festivals. At a purely narrative level the novel tries to build a passage
between two countries, which are divided not only geographically but also racially
and politically. Unity can be achieved if people of both the races practice the
principles of tolerance, understanding and kindness. At this level the theme of the
novel is friendship and love.
A Passage VS Link:
At a deeper level, the novel builds a passage between the achievements of the west
with the wisdom of India, between the physical and the spiritual. The ideals of the
West – normality, rationality, personality, exclusion – and the ideals of India –
impersonality, inclusiveness and love – are juxtaposed. India is the home of rich
spiritual heritage. India is a spirit; she is a mystery. The foreigner feel baffled and
lost when they encounter this real India who manifests herself in the form of a
shame, a mysterious wild animal, and the cave. Even the best representative of the
highly cherished ideals of Western Culture, Fielding, feels that India is a muddle. In
the face of this general opinion of the Westerners, Forster stresses that India is a
spirit and to understand her one should regard her spirituality.
M. Magalaner says that the word ‘passage’ is the fictional attempt to connect to
find the key, the link, between one way of life and another. In the attempt to blend
mystical philosophy, to contemplation on the ultimate truth of life and universe. It
is a passage to the mystery and the muddle India is, and the mystery and the
muddle the whole life, the whole universe is.
Allegorical Meaning:
Outwardly and superficially, the title of the novel may signify journey to India.
There have been invaders on ransacking spree and going back with heavy loot. The
rulers have been pouring in to establish themselves on the throne: missionaries
have been coming with religious messages to remove the darkness and to spread
the gospel of light everywhere. India has been attracting tourists who come to see
the beautiful architecture, the bewitching natural spots, the fascinating lakes, the
holy rivers and, above all, the spiritual abodes.
The title is obviously suggestive and needs careful study, to unfold the real
meaning. It may carry a surface meaning but it is also loaded with symbolism and
allegory. As a matter of fact, there is more than that meets the eye. It was the
scheme of the novel to make it widely read by different classes of people not only
for layman.
The Journey of the Soul:
As the title shows, it is not an ordinary journey of the tourists. It is, so to speak the
journey of the mind in search of new ventures, a journey of the soul to understand
thoroughly what India really is. It is the journey of one nation into another; the
journey of one religion into another. It is a contact of two different civilizations.
Can domination of one over the other lead to any cementing bond between the
two? That is precisely the question posed in the book and the whole book is an
attempt to find a workable solution on it.
Clashes of Two Cultures:
Different mental make-ups, various temperaments, various viewpoints are brought
together to find out as satisfactory solution. Principal Fielding who represents the
best in English culture sought passage to the India so as to project the real image
of the English character to the Indians. His journey was from one heart to another.
To understand the Indians he talked of friendship, tolerance, mutual respect and
understanding. Mrs. Moore and Miss Adela’s visit constitute fresh attempt to
explore the inner recesses of the Indian’s mind. Mrs. Moore was quite sincere in
her efforts to understand not only India but Indians also. Here was a journey of a
soul. Her approach was based on love, justice and fair play. Professor Godbole
travelled on the path of Universalism. “Let us all live and let live.” The world is
wide enough for us. The journey of one nation, especially the ruling one into the
heart of the ruled, failed. It was the relation of Aziz and Fielding as they could not
go on as friends because their horses moved in different directions. Two races could
meet only on an equal footing. They could not become friends as long as
Englishmen were the masters. The officials tried to understand the Indians from a
respectable distance. They looked upon the Indians from the angle of superiority.
Their understanding of the Indians was based on prejudiced opinions, haughtiness
and hatred.
Attempt at Reconciliation:
The book concludes with a conversation between Aziz and Fielding about
reconciliation but Aziz tells him that it is not possible until the English have been
driven out of the India. An attempt has been made to bring Aziz and Godbole closer
in Mau. But that attempt also does not succeed. It is not a union of hearts. It is a
union of convenience. Miss Quested’s journey also failed. She had tried to
understand India without knowing the Indians. Such attempts made a mess of
everything. Mrs. Moore’s last journey was very significant. She could not leave the
Indian. She was the only lady who got success in her objective of understanding
the real India and the Indians.
A Critical Survey:
In fact, the title of this novel has received various critical interpretations and the
exact meaning is still being debated. According to Benita Parry, the book is an
interpretation of India, traditionally a land of mysteries and muddle, and an
interpretation of its impact on those who live in it and on the aliens who come to
it. On the historical level, the novel traces the passage undertaken by two
sympathetic British ladies to ‘see the real India’, to bridge the gap between the
East and the West.
Separation of race, sex, and culture religion exist and disturb mutual unity and
understanding of humans. Yet, ultimately, human, racial, cultural, religious,
political relations can be improved by giving up prejudice, arrogance, pride, and
feelings of superiority or inferiority.
Conclusion:
The world and human life can be bettered by mutual understanding, harmony and
love. Church, mosque or temple alone is not the way to salvation. What are needed
are a large heart and a broad perspective. Emotion and intellect, head and heart
must function harmoniously. The novel is, indeed, more than a passage to India –
a spiritual search of one’s self and beyond.