Q4. "Gotis, Tikra! From today we are gotis, slaves! Discuss the importance of this observation in Paraja. [Dec-2011][June 2014]

Q4. "Gotis, Tikra! From today we are gotis, slaves! Discuss the  importance of this observation in Paraja. [Dec-2011][June 2014]

View the summary on our channel at Student Help

 Ans. The events in the novel Paraja begin in winter and trace th misfortunes of Sukru Jani and his family through a span of a full year ti next December. In the novel, we are introduced with the knowledge about the life o the 'Paraja' tribe inclusive of their food habits, their clothes and their residential accommodations and all description spells out their simplicity. We are introduced to the protagonist Sukru Jani and his family who have been living in peace. Their needs are simple and their desires are limited Sukru Jani's wife Sombari is dead. A man-eating tiger had carried her away and thereafter the husband Sukru Jani has been living with his two sons- Mandia and Tikra, and his two daughters-Jili and Bili. Further, the story broadens our vision about the life style of the Paraja. If men worked in the fields and forests, then the women of the house took care of the daily household chores, whether it was cooking washing or other household works. Then, the story gives a clear vision to the destruction of poor, ignorant and illiterate people in the hands of the cunning and powerful people, and it is how the misery of the family is described in the novel. The People of the village advise Sukru Jani to raise a loan from the moneylender Ram Bisoi and in exchange become a debt bound goti or a bonded labourer. Sukru Jani is not ready to exchange his shelter and freedom as he has never questioned the legality of his actions, and has not realized that he is not the owner of the land he has been tilling as his own. Now, Sukru Jani was trapped in the despair and misery. The past nd present visions merge in front of his eyes. But by the next day, he is are that he has no choice except to go to the moneylender The tragic drama that will unfold as a result of his decision to borrow money mortgaging himself as a goti or a bonded labourer to Sahukar Ramchandra Bisoi starts and continues in this novel. The tribal folk seek loans from him for the bride price that the Paraja men have to pay and for buying grain, etc. In Sukru Jani's case, a loan of fifty rupees is raised, an agreement signed and smeared with thumb impressions; a deed of which Sukru Jani does not understand a word. And that day spells doomsday for Sukru Jani's family. From today we are gotis, my son; we have signed the agreement and from today we are gotis! 'His eyes filled with tears and his chest heaved with great sighs. The ageing father threw his arms round his son, broke into sobs and said Gotis, Tikra! From today we are gotis, slaves! The cloud that passes over Sukru Jani's family brings tears, sorrow and unhappiness. Sukru Jani and Tikra have to work as gotis for the moneylender Ram Bisoi who lives eight miles away from Sarsupadar. For a debt bound labourer, each day is of hard labour and the days are never ending. Thus, the given statement describes about the miserable condition of Sukru and his family in the village. He was financially destroyed.