Sunday, May 19, 2002		Books

A sensuous story set in the hills
Padam Ahlawat

Wild Flower
by Avinash Prem. Vale Publications, New Delhi. Pages 243. Rs 250.

THE author, Avinash Prem belongs to Himachal Pradesh, and now lives in Shimla. The former Brigadier of the Indian Army has to his credit an earlier work of non-fiction, India — A soldier’s view. In the book under review, the soldier writes a sensuous story set in the remote tribal area of Kinnaur. An area formerly known for polyandry and morals that allow one to abandon one’s wife or take another woman to live with, with ease. The setting is ideal for a story that has a surfeit of erotic love. When the soldier writes of love, he treats it as a battlefield. The author treats even the winter storm as a battleground:- "In their wake came dark big cumulus clouds, with them the gods of war announced their arrival for battle with thundering salvos and devastating bombardment."

The young hill women are depicted as beautiful, full of life and ready to engage in physical love. The only exception is the heroine of the novel, Rukmini, who falls in love with Lobzang. She is shown to be virtuous and refuses to have sex with Lobzang out of wedlock. The hill men are shown as lusty and some are lazy, given to drinks, a common occurrence in remote hills. Lobzang is the central character of the novel, while Rukmini is the heroine. Yet, the novel seems to be named after Yalut Butith, a sensuous beautiful woman, whose name means ‘wild rose’.

The story begins with Yalut Butith, a Kinnaur girl of Lahul Spiti, who falls in love with Potam Ram. The parents oppose the match and so Potam Ram resorts to abduction, which is an acceptable form of marriage in that area. Their love lasts a year or two and she gives birth to Lobzang. She takes several lovers and Potam Ram is heart broken. The son, Lobzang, is nine years old and is aware of one Tsherring visiting his mother at night.

Potam Ram becomes a guide to two foreign girls on a trek.The girls seduce him and one day he is mauled by a bear and dies. Yalut is heart broken as a widow, but only a few days later allows her lover Tsherring to live with her. Lobzang is ill treated, while the two spent their time in debauchery. Lobzang is often beaten by a drunk Tsherring.

Lobzang meets Rukmini, daughter of Sher Singh, a former Rajput soldier from Kulu, who is camping with his sheep. Sher Singh learns of the boy’s plight and he pays for adopting the boy. Lobzang falls in love with Rukmini, but she is married off to Madho Ram who turns out to be a debauched drunkard. He ill-treats Rukmini and takes another woman as his wife. Rukmini flees with her son. Madho Ram visits Rukmini at her parents’ house and runs away with their son. Sher Singh passes away and Lobzang and Rukmini find love in a marriage. The story is the redeeming feature of the novel.