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Wingless…a novel
During the course of this process, Prabhu has to face the forces bent upon defeating his earnest attempts. These forces are the city-based capitalists — the stony-eyed Prakash (the fire-works factory manager), and Satvarlal Sait (the goldsmith) — who wish to grab the country land by aligning themselves with the like-minded village crooks represented by Gokulan, who heads the village panchayat. The serene order of Tamil village Karipumedu, the adolescent innocence of Raju, and the love life of Prabhu —all are at stake. These barbaric forces are eventually defeated but before their defeat, much of the good in the countryside is also destroyed. The story ends with a tragic note but a hopeful vision of Gandhian ideal is retained. The plot presents many riddles — who murdered Raju’s mother? Who is Raju’s father? Why has Raju become dumb? After a certain stage, these riddles no more remain riddles as the simple plot advances on expected lines. Despite this erosion of suspense, the novel remains, more or less, absorbing because of its capability of dealing with the human reality at different levels. There are explorations into child morbidity ensuing out of a grossly suppressed adolescence — Raju moves with shuffling feet and in sensitive moments always rushes towards the desolated security of distant hills or the lake. There is an authentic flavour of a Tamil village with talk of jalli kattu, kalakshebam, garagadum — an assortment of bullock races, myth-recitals and tribal dances. The novel also offers many instances of fine imagery — Poojari’s plait is like a hangman’s noose; Gokulan, the villain, crushes a procession of black beetles through a rotatory motion of his shoes; Prabhu’s beloved Kuyili runs in the rain like a golden deer. These adolescent probings, social celebrations, and image figments tend to grow into symbolical patterns — deliberate and poised. Therein lies the strength of the novelist. Occasionally, we also enjoy the ironic grim humour etched picturesquely: "A group of young boys in torn shorts swung their arms and legs and danced to the beat of the goatskin drum. Their bony knees and thin legs moved freely in the loose khaki shorts they wore. One boy tied his shirt the way he had seen his mother do when she was close to a dead body but his actions were at odds with his mouth which laughed with glee at the freedom of his limbs." But one must also note that the treatment of conflicts, which is a vital part in this sort of psychological novel, both at the psychical and the physical level, seldom becomes aesthetically complete or energetically vibrant. Either it becomes naively simplistic or overly melodramatic. As a debut novel, it is a fair attempt. It has symbolic strength wrought in authentic native flavour but is deficient in dialogic constructs, plot complexity, and the dramatic intensity of psychic conflicts. Overall, it is quite readable. |
Mahatama
Gandhi tells the protagonist, Prabhu, in the prologue of this novel:
"When you grow up, look after the land and the people who live
here. It is your duty." As he grows old, this becomes the cherished
ideal that Prabhu tries to realise to his utmost strength. His primary
task is to recover the lost innocence of Raju whose mother Mariamma has
been murdered and who has turned dumb because of his childhood traumas.