In a predominantly growth-obsessed market-driven consumerist culture, the environment as a subject has remained at the margins of popular perception – arcane to some and obscure to others. Environment no longer registers! Even if it does, it is often from the perspective of highly polarized environment-development debates. That environment sustains all life forms rarely merit a majority concern.
Why is modern living distanced from the environment? Could near absence of inter-generational transfer of empathy towards environment be the prime reason! Stories, both oral and written, have ceased to be the channel for transferring the subtleties of our inter-dependence on nature and myriad other life forms. Stark monetization of human existence has further reduced environment into a set of by-products and services that can be traded. No surprise therefore that environment has been pushed to the margins of social consciousness with the riches of nature being squandered for petty gains.
Through his collection of refreshing short stories, noted Kannada writer K P Purnachandra Tejasvi connects the civilized with the wild, evoking sentience towards what is often considered ‘given’. Set amidst the forest adjoining his village Mudigere in Chickamaglur district, each of the fifteen stories are encounters in the wild, capturing the innate intelligence of various animals in interacting with humans. The strange behavior of the jungle fowl; the mythical existence of snakes; the defense mechanism of the mud tortoise; and the amazing commonsense of the simians provide compelling insights on the virtues of co-existence.
Considered as one of the finest prose writers, Tejasvi’s stories are neither obtrusive nor preachy. Full of wit and humor, he delightfully transforms real-life incidents in the forest into stories which have environment as the central character. The storyteller doesn’t lay undue emphasis on environment, leaving it to the reader’s imagination to create possibilities in his or her own depths. These are not just stories but experiences in the wild, making the reader aware about environment even without realizing it. The stories neither compete nor negotiate an existing situation, but create an enduring relationship between the reader and the human/non-human characters.
There is unmistakable hint of richness lurking in each of the stories in The Story of My Environment. Tejasvi has an exceptional sensitivity towards environment which together with his comic genius helps transform this collection into a work of art. As a tribute to Tejasvi’s brilliance, this collection of short stories is 'highly recommended' for readers of all age groups!
The Story of My Environment
by K P Puranachandra Tejasvi
Pustakaprakashana, Mysore
Extent: 192, Price: Rs 140
Are the rich, educated people as clever as jackals? Dressed in the garb of development, with the laws to their side, don’t they devour fields and forests to create a new social class – of the disposed and displaced? Forced to bear it with gritted teeth and suppressed whimpers, the injury of displacement has left permanent scars on the souls of millions! In this award-winning novel, Vishwas Patil lends voice to the pain and anguish of the people of Jambhli, who have been ousted to make way for the construction of a large dam.
Close to reality, the saga of resistance conjures up multiple images of people who refuse to surrender their ancestral land to the juggernaut of development. Rooted to their cultural inheritance, they question the veracity of forced relocation which in no way can compensate the sweat that they had poured into their lands. Caught in the rehabilitation trap, the Jambhlikars find themselves battling petty politicians on one hand and apathetic officials on the other. Patil’s accomplished prose and fine sensibility captures their unending ordeal.
Utterly relevant to our time, the heart-rending narrative exposes the system that acts like a ghost, riding on poor’s neck and pushing them deeper and deeper into the quicksand till they perish. Since the dams get choked with silt much before the oustees are resettled, the plight of the displaced rarely persists long in popular perception. Who will mourn someone who dies everyday! Full of rage and disbelief, A dirge for the dammed is a painful saga of the new ‘class’ of people exiled from their homelands.
Divided into seven parts, the novel braids together several lives and desires. If there is Khairmode Guruji who is in relentless pursuit of justice then there is Haibati whose unending search for alternative employment reflects system’s hostility towards the displaced. Between these two lead characters are many others whose frustrating struggle sustains narrative tension in flawlessly elegant prose. The politics of rehabilitation, which forms a major part of the plot, is explored with a thoroughness befitting an investigative journalist, and yet retaining all the elements of a primarily fictional work.
With an innate desire to bring the hidden dimensions of development to light, Patil spends inordinate amount of energy elucidating the details of every intrigue. The sub-stories of men and women whose lives have been destroyed by the project evoke strong empathy, mocking at those who hold notion of ‘public interest’ supreme in the quest for development. Poor don’t have ten doors open for them; they have to squeeze their lives through the only door. Development shuts the only door!
It is heart-rending story, translated to perfection by Keerti Ramachandran, that is a must read for all those who have some stake in ‘development’.
A Dirge for the Dammed
by Vishwas Patil
Hachette India, New Delhi
Extent: 471, Price: Rs. 450
