One of the remarkable dramatic Scenes in the novel “Untouchable” is the Hockey match in the evening between Bakha and his friends. The two teams scheduled to play on the ground are the 31st Punjabis and the 38th Dogras, which consist of the untouchable boys. Anand portrays a lively picture of the match, “It was an extraordinary spectacle. The crowd of boys in the field hopped to and fro like grasshoppers. There was no organization in the game they played. The rules of the game had hardly any meaning for them. When Bakha is about to win and drives the ball into the space between the Posts and the goalkeeper (of the opposite side) spitefully strikes a blow on his (Bakha’s) legs. The game at once turns into a fight. The boys of the two sides attack each other, scratching, hitting, kicking, yelling. Sticks and stones come in full use,
By chance the babu’s little son is hurt. A stone from Ram Charan’s hand accidentally hits him badly on the head. He begins to bleed profusely and faints. As Bakha is deeply moved, he takes him to his home. Bakha hopes that his mother shall feel obliged. But instead of praising him, she accuses him of defiling her son and her house. Being upset, he hands over the child and retreats.
The Scene enables Anand not only to complete his picture of the miserable life of the untouchables and the inhumanity of the caste Hindus, it also provides him opportunity of giving graphic pen-picture of the beauty of nature. As Bakha goes up the Bulashah Hills with his friend Ram Charan and Chota, his two friends go on ahead of him, and he is left alone, and the beauty of the afternoon- the gently waving long grass, the beautiful deep blue of the sky, the small hills covered with the green vegetation all fill his heart with peace. He feels like standing quietly before the beautiful scen. And yet, in spite of the peace that nature instills into his heart, Bakha does not respond to nature.
In other words, although Bakha is willing to employ his senses to enjoy the pleasures of nature, his occupation- the work of scavenging- has annihilated his finer senses. He finds Pleasure in nature, nature influencing him, but he feels the influence only in a limited and superficial way. It is the boring routine and the filthy work of cleaning latrines that have made Bakha incapable of appreciating natural beauty. Thus the match provides the novelist with yet another occasion to describe the inhumanity of the caste Hindus and the degrading and demoralising effect of untouchability.
Also read: The Role of the Witches in Macbeth by William Shakespeare
