Technique—A Primary Concern of the Western Writer:
In the modem novel technique is a primary concern of the Western writer. It is supposed to be a major part of the art of fiction. The success of a novel depends more on the technique rather than on the subject matter. In "Technique at Discovery" Marb Schorer says, "When we speak of technique, then we speak of nearly everything. For technique is the means by which the writer's experience, which is his subject-matter, compels him to attend to it, developing is the only means, he has of discovering, exploring, developing his subject, of conveying its meaning, and, finally, of evaluating it. And surely it follows that certain techniques are sharper tools than others, and will discover more, that we writer capable of the most exacting technical scrutiny of subject-matter will produce works with the most satisfying content, works with thickness and resonance, works which reverberate, works with maximum meaning."
Technical Maturity in the Second and Third Phase of Development:
The technical level of Indo-Anglian fiction was very low in the first phase of its development but in the second and the third phases there is a concern with technique and technical maturity is achieved through a variety of techniques which is a direct result of the search for new techniques. An awareness of it is in itself a sign of development. Of course, in Indo-Anglian fiction there has not been a considerable number of experiments in technique. But whatever limited numbers of techniques there are in the Indian novel, it is clear that there is more technical maturity and facultative inventiveness in the Indo-Anglian Novel.
The First Person Narrative Technique:
The most prominent technique of narration in Indo-Anglian fiction is the first person narrative. This technique is seen in many novels such as Raja Rao's The Serpent and the Rope, Manohar Malgonker's The Price, Nayantara Sahgal's A Time to be Happy, K. Nagarajan's The Chronicles of Kedaram etc.
The Third Person Narrative Technique:
Next to it, we also find, in a large number of novels, the third person narrative or the tradition of the omniscient author who narrates the story objectively. This is a typical narrative technique of Mulk Raj Anand. It is seen in Untouchable, Coolie and Ahmad Ali's Twilight in Delhi and Ocean of Night, Narayan's Waiting for Mahatma, Manohar Malgonker's A Bend in The Ganges etc.
Some Other Modes of Narration:
In The Guide, R. K. Narayan combined the two modes of narration—the first person narrative which is objective-to produce a tour-de-force. In some novels a minor character is made the narrator of the story as in Raja Rao's Kanthapura where an ordinary old woman is the narrator. This method is also used by Mulk Raj Anand in The Private Life of an Indian Prince. "Of many possible methods of narration here Anand employs the psychologically and artistically safest, making a minor participant in the action, Dr. Shanker, the Prince's physician recapitulate the events in the tragi-comic play."
The Creative Use of Myth:
The creative use of myth as a powerful instrument of structure is a distinctive aspect of modem literature in the West. Earlier allusions to the Biblical events, characters and Greco-Roman mythologies were used by the writers as a device of amplification or decoration. But now has become a conscious literary technique: myth becomes the structure of literary works. It is seen in Eliot's The Waste Land, Joyce's Ulysses, O' Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra and John Updike's The Centaur. India has a rich treasure-house of myth and legends as evinced in The Ramayana and The Mahabharat. The Indo-Anglian novelist has imported the technique of the creative use of myth. The Radha-Krishna legend is a recurrent myth in Raja Rao's The Serpent and the Rope. There is the use of myth in Narayan's The Man-eater of Malgudi. In The Old Woman and The Cow Mulk Raj Anand used the myth of Sita's fire-ordeal as part of his technique. Sudhin Ghose's The Cradle of the Clouds is also remarkable for its use of myth. A reference to these works shows that the Western technique of the use of myth has been naturalized in India with some advantages and is being used.
Use of English Language:
So far as the use of the English language is concerned, Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao have carried out experiments in this field. Anand's English is what Khuswant Singh calls, 'Mulkese'-a liberal and evocative use of Indian words, literal translation of Indian idioms and abuses. Raja Rao has created an Indian Sanskrit rhythm in the syntax of English. Khuswant Singh himself follows Mulk Raj Anand in some areas of languages. Raja Rao says, "We cannot write like the English. We should not. We cannot write only as Indians. We have grown to look at the large world as part of us. Our method of expression, therefore, has to be a dialect which will someday prove to be as distinctive and colorful as the Irish or the American. Time alone will justify it."
