Book Review #53: Doora Saridaru By Dr. S. L. Bhyrappa

After all, when it comes to philosophy based books, I will not be able to put down that. This book "Doora Saridaru" of Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa sir is a bundle of philosophical thoughts. Each character that the author created is a mountain of philosophical thinking. This novel mainly explores the idea of marriage, or we can put it as inter caste marriage and it also explores the requirement of right thinking or we can say as bonding between a girl and a boy before getting married, how this will affect a marriage etc... We can call this book as philosophy of marriage or literally philosophy of life. 

 

I really liked the philosophical ideas that the author has imbibed in all the characters. “Doora Saridaru” will be translated to English as “Moved Away”. Yes, this novel speaks about the couples who are yet to be married, but they decided they would get married. However, some unfortunate events will make it not happen. Reasons look very trivial for a normal novel reader. For a philosophy student this novel looks like an absolute profound experience. The thought that runs between each protagonist and the dialogue exchange between him and her is an awesome thought process.

The plot of the novel seems like a regular college love story. Sachidananda a studious young man who was studying English (Hons) degree finds a girl called Vinithakumari from his class who was very good looking and like him; she was pursuing her interests in literature and poetry. Soon, they will find interest in one another and expresses their love interest and it goes on like regular love stories. 

In another parallel story, a student called Vasantha a philosophy pursuing graduate and senior to Sachidananda. This Vasantha is a very introverted person. However, when it comes to debates and argument about philosophical subjects there is no one in the college who can match him except for a girl called Uma. She is Vasantha’s junior in the philosophy degree course and she was the one who can match to the qualities of Vasantha. As expected, some favourable incidents will make Vasantha and Uma to be another couple in the college.

As the story further progresses, there is a regular parental opposition to this marriage, there is disappointment, there are resentments etc... However, what I really liked about the novel is the after effects of the incident where their respective parents will oppose to these marriages. Vinitha’s mother rejected Sachindananda and Vinitha was not strong enough to oppose her mother. Sachidananda tried to convince Vinitha for a registered marriage. Even here, Vinitha was not strong enough to make a decision. She believed in philosophy of pain. She often told Sachidananda about how her suffering and pain will help to change her mother’s mind. Dejected by Vinitha’s decisions, Sachidananda will become a maniac, he loses his interest in life, he wanted to become a hermit, so, he leaves his house and goes to some hill station and tries to find solace for his burning soul. There he meets a sage or a person who renounced his life. This person has an important story in later stages of the novel. There he learns something better and decides to stay strong and he heads back to his home and concentrates more on his studies.

In another parallel story, Vasantha and Uma will participate in a debate about philosophy of truth and philosophy of marriage. There in one occasion, Uma humiliated Vasantha. She made his every argument very trivial and stupid. Vasantha decides immediately that this idea will not work in his life. He tries to convince Uma that, she would never argue with him once they get married. For which, Uma slowly said that, it is not possible but she will try her best. Therefore, Vasantha decides to postpone their marriage for about a year.

The real magic of the novel appears now, the huge philosophical thoughts of each protagonist comes into picture. Sachidananda decides to study like there is no tomorrow. He starts to pursue his master’s degree. Whereas Vinithakumari decides to drop out of college and she starts to work as a schoolteacher. Vasantha decides to pursue his PhD and Uma decides to work for an NGO. Will these couples get married or what role the fate will play in these lives? I stop at this point and let the readers go through the book and find out the answer! 

I recommend this book to everyone and for those who are students of philosophy or interested in learning about philosophy. It is a classic attempt by my favourite author. 

My Rating:

5/5

Book Review #15: Chomana Dudi By Dr. K. Shivaram Karanth

There are few books which completely takes the readers into a trance and leaves them for several days. "Chomana Dudi (Choma's Drum)" is one of such books. With full of emotions and tragic sequences in the entire novel leaves the reader spellbound. This is one of the short stories written by Kannada's ace novelist, Jnanapith award winner Dr. K. Shivaram Karanth in 1933. This book entirely focuses on the untouchability practices that was rampant in India during that time. The main protagonist of the novel "Choma" is an untouchable or what we popularly call as "Dalit". 

This short book has been made into movie in the year 1975 under the same title directed by B.V. Karanth. This movie has won the Swarna Kamala award from president of India.

The practice of untouchability is not new to India, it is much worse than racism. Author has elegantly captured all these practices and given the shape of a journey of a man called "Choma" and his beloved "Dudi" or "Drum".

Choma is an untouchable bonded labour in a village. He and his entire family was working for a landlord in a village, as he was not allowed to own a land and till on his own. Due to the tag of a backward class, Choma was not allowed to till any land, which he has desired the most. Though he had acquired a pair of bullocks from a nearby forest, he wish of owning and tilling a land remained a dream after all. This has frustrated him for life long and to forget his sorrows and show his anger on the society he gets drunk every night and starts playing his Dudi or Drum.

Without much success with any of his landlord, Choma was contacted by some Christian missionaries who intimidated him to get converted to christianity by offering him a piece of land to till. Though choma was interested at the beginning, later he rejected that offer and felt proud of his faith and religion.

Choma has 4 sons and a daughter, 2 of his elder sons Guru and Chaniya who were working in a coffee estate far away to pay off the debt. Chaniya dies of Cholera and Guru converted to christianity and marries a christian girl and never visited his father ever again. Here, choma's daughter Belli, goes to the same coffee estate to pay off his debt, who falls prey for Manvela, the writer of coffee estate's owner. She was abused constantly and even the estate owner had raped her often and one day sends her off from the coffee estate saying the debt was cleared.

In Choma's village one bad day, his 2 younger sons were playing near the river and accidently one of his son slips into the river. Since, they were untouchables none of the other villagers couldn't come forward to help him to save his son. All these events had eventually made Choma to lose his senses. He lost his sense and was always staying at house without going to labour work and often playing his Dudi (Drum) in a deafening noise to forget his tragic fate. When he thought everything was over, he and his daughter Belli decides to join Guru, and accept christianity.

Choma decides to go and meet his son Guru, he leaves his village. When he was half-way, he changes his mind and decides whatever happens to him, he is not going to change his faith and religion. By deciding this, he heads back to his house, but, he saw an unexpected scene at his house. His daughter Belli was seen in a compromising position with Manvela, who was that writer of that coffee estate. Full of anger, Choma beats his daughter and throws her out of the house and he chases off his bullocks into the forest and comes home, locks himself inside the house and starts playing his Dudi or Drum non-stop till he breathes his last breath. This marks the end of the book.

Choma's dream of becoming a farmer and tilling his own land remained a dream after all. Throughout all his tragic fate of incidents, only his Dudi or Drum remained as a loyal friend to him. Just because he was an untouchable, his entire village was against him and never allowed him to till his own land.

A must read book, it just opens you to an entire new world. Also, it teaches a great lesson to learn humanity first rather than clinging to one's own religion. The oppression Choma faced in this novel is beyond imagination. I have left with only one question, when this upper-caste, lower-caste altogether the caste system will be thrown out of this world ?

My Rating: 5/5

Book Review #10 - Parva By Dr. S.L.Bhyrappa

Parva (Source: Internet)

 I wonder how many times such masterpieces can be possibly written ?. The experience of reading such books is out of the world. The vaccum it occupies once you finish those books and the impact it leaves behind is magnificient. Out of those books, this awesome book PARVA certainly tops the list. I recommened this to every reader who is intereseted to learn the alternate Mahabharata.

 Foremost Kannada Novelist, Writer, Philosopher, Thinker and Professor Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa has put in lots of efforts for this book, where the actual research of the author lasted for 7 long years!!.Written with great eloquency and massive research and surprisingly presented the household Mahabharata story as a fictitious story requires great conviction.

Though his every work is bitterly fought over by critics on their interpretations, though I must confess that I am in no position to offer my experience of his other works. I just started his works by reading his popular novels first, may be, by the time I finish reading his every other novels, I get a sense of his writing style. But PARVA, perhaps the best book I have read under the fiction category. Categorizing this book under fiction category makes unjustifiable. One would not get a thought to rewrite the entire Mahabharta until and unless he is S.L. Bhyrappa.

PARVA is not just a masterpiece; it's a brilliant masterpiece. It is the "MAGNUM-OPUS" of the Kannada literature world. Reading a book in its original language is priceless. This book has been translated to English by Dr. K. Raghavendra Rao. This requires a great composure to translate a book of nearly 700 pages without diluting the effect. He has done full justice in his translation work.

In Short, PARVA is a Mahabharta in reality. Every character is HUMAN. Each and every character created is a complex package which feels a gamut of emotions be it jealousy, romance, politics, anger, forgiveness. Pandavas fight among themselves is as much as each of them introspect into their own lives and decisions which gives rise to several important questions of the basic epic. Few instances like "Does Pandavas actually depicted the epitome of brotherhood among themselves?" Or "Are there any instances of fight between themselves for petty things?", "Was Draupadi being forced while getting married to 5 Pandava brothers?", "What was their actual food habits?", "How did the political alliances have made between other kings?", "Does Dritharashtra has fathered 101 kids in reality?", etc... These kind of doubts never seems to appear in the actual epic of Mahabharata. But, PARVA certainly seems to questions these things!!

There are no gods here, no demons, but just humans. If we were to beleive that Mahabharata as a factual incident, then we have to certainly ponder over such things. If Pandavas has 7 Akshohiny troops and Kauravas had 11 Akshohiny troops, does Kurukshetra was wide enough to accomodate such battle to take palce ?. Krishna is as much as human as Ghatothkach. The sheer brilliance of the author comes in when, he disapproves of any godly references that normal Mahabharata refers to, and thereby gives his work a rational perspective as well as historical insights into the life of those times. Without any doubt, PARVA is an interpretation of Mahabharata in reality with ordinary people, ordinary rules and ordinary battle.

In all his other books, Author Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa tries to tell us the story by creating a main character which narrates the story to a third person. And like his every other book, there are female protagonists. In PARVA also, all the other characters seems to be unimportant compared to the characters of Kunti, Draupadi, Gandhari, etc...

He also tries to enlighten us the readers about the age old ancient practices (Though there is no practical proofs of such practices in this current society). This is NIYOGA. NIYOGA actually refers to having an extra marital affair when any of the spouse is found out to be infertile. Through Niyoga, anyone can have a child which is completely law abiding. In the book PARVA, Kunti actually undergoes the Niyoga system to have children, with the mutual consent of Panduraja, her husband. Having said that, Author tries to remove any magical references to the DEVLOKA (God's Kingdom). There are no gods here and no magical powers of gods. Here, the Gods actually means a tribe of people who were lived in the forests of Himalayas. Through them, Kunti decides to have relationship, only for the purpose of having children.

Author also explains us about Draupadi getting married to all 5 Pandava brothers. Infact, this system is still in practice in some of the remote parts of Eastern India and some parts of Tibet. A single woman marries all the brothers of a single family. Author had adopted this method of marriage for Draupadi's wedding. It was because of Kunti's request that Draupadi agreed to marry all 5 Pandava brothers.

Author had imagined brilliantly by creating a fictitious work on the birth of Kauravas. According to this book, Gandhari had only 14 children of her own. The other 86 children were born to the slaves of Dritharashtra. YUYUTSU is one among those 86 children, who at the time of war, changes his side and fights for Pandavas. Since, he believed that, Pandavas are following the Dharmic principles. We cannot read this part of story in actual Mahabharata.

The heart wrenching episode of war is brilliantly imagined and written, which cannot be read in the actual epic. It is believed that the war had took place for almost 18 days. As the days of the war progressed, imagine the foot soldiers who have to fight all day long have to step on the dead bodies that were lying in the battle field. They have to step onto the beheaded bodies of the dead corpses and animals. Thousands of Elephants, Horses that were killed. None of us would have imagined that what happened to those animals after all. Did they conducted the last funeral rites for all the soldiers that were dead in the battle.?. Hundreds and Thousands of broken chariots that were still stuck in the middle of the battlefield. Was there any space available to continue the war despite all these difficulties?, only time can answer all these questions, raised by the Author in this fiction work.

These are just some of the glimpses of what is known to be a humoungous volume of nearly 700 odd pages of book. Surely, if this book would have published in this modern era, it would have gone to unimaginable heights.

There lies in the beauty of the book. It captivates and holds you with such fervor that not for a moment do you think are in the present, but always a feeling that you are with them, seeing it, and feeling it. The master stroke lies in the last 15 pages of the book and a single paragraph of last 9 pages that describes the end of the war and its after effects. Every frame of the war between Pandavas and the Kauravas will stay on in the mind after you have read the book.

As I pondered at the end of the book, there is just one question. If this is what the author aimed at, I bow to him for, I too have changed. Emptiness beyond the deepest well had overtaken me too at the end of this fascinating book. Beyond the waves, the rain, the silence, laid the emptiness of having accompolished something. I was almost there to witness the silence of war, the thundering clouds, the violence of the rain and the anger of the waves upon the lands that fought the war in the name of Dharma. An empty feeling had overtaken me as I flipped the last page of the book.

My Rating: 5/5