Pather Panchali- Song of the Road-An Ecosophy of Life:
One of the important subfields of Ecocriticism is Ecosophy or ecological philosophy. It is commonly known as ‘the philosophy of ecological harmony or equilibrium’. The term was coined by the Norwegian father of deep ecology Arne Naess and French Post-modernist philosopher Felix Guattari. Naess’s definition of ecosophy is as follows:
“By an ecosophy, I mean a philosophy of ecological harmony or equilibrium. A philosophy as a kind of sofia (or) wisdom, is openly normative, it contains both norms, rules, postulates, value priority announcements and hypotheses concerning the state of affairs in our universe. Wisdom is policy wisdom, prescription, not only scientific description and prediction.…show more content… They are as green and spontaneous as nature herself. In their crystal clear mind nature lays deep impact which never withers. Children make their own toys with the elements of nature and drink life to the lees amid fruits and flowers, birds and animals, skies and rain. Apu’s love of nature begins with Pather Panchali-Song of the Road. He is, in fact, half man and half nature. He and his sister Durga use to enjoy the sweet rain which makes their faces as lovely as jasmine flowers usually after a shower. The rural landscape was their joy land of heaven. The green meadows, the vast canopy of sky, the rain-drops, the clouds- every natural object- all tell us of the never ending saga of life blended with happiness and misery. The jungle near their house has its deep impact on them to bring peace and consolation to their hearts despite their grim struggle for existence in the midst of poverty and snobbery of wealthier neighbours. They collect mangoes, make fun and feast in the forest, gather vegetables and remain untouched by the horrors of poverty. The Harihar’s family draws the sustenance from the natural environments. It is as though nature has her own resource to meet the needs of the dispossessed. Nature abounds in the gifts of fruits