Nayantara Sahgal's A Time To Be Happy

Nayantara Sahgal deals with problems caused by a changing order. She presents new philosophy in her novels including one’s own identity and roots. The novel, A Time to be Happy, is based on the character of Sanad Shivpal, the son of a rich man, a typical product of a public school, an executive in mercantile firm and a good tennis player. Most of his problems are the problems of the west-educated boys returning to India and encountering in him the conflict between the two sets of values. This novel offers a more faithful picture of the period of independence and tells about the Gandhian movement during the forties. A Time to be Happy embodies the enthusiasm and starry-eyed optimism of India just after independence. Gandhi represented the fine

His employer, Mr. Trent notices all these activities and warns Sanad but he boldly informs him that nothing is wrong with his activities and the steps which he has been taking are only to familiarize himself with his own country. He marries Kusum. After his marriage to Kusum, who comes from a nationalist background Sanad’s main concern is how to regain his roots. Nayantara Sahgal presents through his character the conflict between Eastern and Western values. He is fully aware of his dilemma of being rootless. He mourns his fate. He gives a clear expression to his sense of isolation: "... It is a strange feeling to be midway between two worlds, not completely belonging to either. I don’t belong entirely to India. I Can’t. My education, my upbringing, and my sense of values have all combined to make me un-Indian. What do I have in common with most of my country men?” Sanad is so much troubled at his rootlessness that he even declares to resign from the British firm where he is working. By learning Hindi and by spinning homemade cotton yarn, he finds a feeling of belonging to his

Sanad has the talent to be happy. As the narrator in the novel explains, “the central philosophy of Karma itself can be seen as encouraging passivity if man’s present life is seen as the result of his past actions”.5 However, the doctrine can also be taken as a challenge for it is within human capability to shape a better future. A Time to be Happy, based on the central philosophy of Karma can itself be interpreted to support two ways of life. On the one hand, it encourages passivity for man’s present life as the result of his past actions, on the other it is a challenge for human power to create a better future for himself. Nayantara Sahgal’s sense of tradition is accompanied by a sense of genial tolerance and a belief that traditional faith can coexist with a liberal and enlightened attitude. It need not be an inhibiting factor in development of life. Maya seems as a contrast to the traditional ideal woman in the tapestry of this novel. Maya is the Pativrata, the self-negating Indian Hindu woman. Maya Shivpal at the age of sixteen was married to Harish Shivpal, a flamboyant, extravagant and anglicized