A Preface to Man

by Subhash Chandran

  ‘But,’ with difficulty she completed what she was attempting to say earlier, ‘I don’t know you. I haven’t even seen you. I also do not understand how you could do something which my husband desired very much to do but never could!’

  The book handed over by him sat trembling in her hands. With a smile tinted with a time-transcending sadness he said, ‘I know you. We have also met once.’

  She gave him a disbelieving look. As she stood as if in a trance, riffling the four hundred and eighty pages of the book with her thumb, he told her, ‘It was at least thirty years ago. I had come to meet a friend who was doing Chemistry in UC College. Seeing no one in the classroom, I asked around and was told that everyone was in the laboratory for practical classes. I waited for him there for a long while. Because of the boredom and loneliness, I took a piece of chalk lying on the floor and wrote on the blackboard a sentence which had occurred to me at that time. That was when an eighteen-year-old walked in with some books in her hand. In order to not disturb her, as she seemed to be in search of a place to sit and copy down notes, I left hurriedly. I do not know if you remember; that girl was you!’

  Ann Marie’s mouth went dry. Her legs were sweating copiously. ‘I never saw you,’ she said, ‘possibly because I wasn’t looking. But I still remember the words you wrote on that board. That was the beginning and end of my marriage!’

  ‘Oh, that is interesting,’ he said. ‘Some silliness! Let it go, don’t worry about that. Please read this book. Effectively, there is no difference between your husband not being able to write this and I being able to do so. Beneath every mountain it is the same lava which is boiling. It may be spat out by weak mountains. We call those mountains volcanoes. And some people with fiery heads like that, we call writers. In effect all are the same—nothing but heaps of soil! None of us owns the fire inside and the light it spreads!’

  After saying that, he stepped out and disappeared into the light.

  Ann Marie woke up from her strange dream. She was dozing, sitting on the same seat used by her husband during his last moments, leaning against the yellow cushions. She had no recollection of reaching there from the bathroom. Feeling the strong breeze starting to blow through the window, she got up. The calendar near the door started to swing in both directions and make the scraping sound. She stood for a moment, trying to recollect the name of the book she had seen in the dream. Suddenly, the calling bell sounded thrice and the calendar flew off the nail on the wall and on to the floor. Stepping on the calendar unintentionally, she moved to the door.

  A great hope filled Ann Marie from somewhere. It was a faith that it is possible for a light, which smouldered like an oil-less wick inside a tortured empty soul for a quarter century and then was extinguished, to be resurrected in three days, or in three years, or if not, at least in three centuries. A corporeal resurrection possible in the son of God may seek other avenues in mere mortals: in another body, in another place, in another time.

  She felt her empty life was like a book that had been closed by someone after reading it. The door to the flat stood like its hardcover. Someone will open it. She, a recent widow, will be discovered as its first chapter.

  Feeling trapped between dreams and reality and getting endlessly repeated in them as if in two mirrors kept facing each other on either side of her, she got ready to look through the fisheye lens of the peephole on the door.

  Glossary

  Prologue

  Anupallavi is a recapitulation of lyrics sung in Pallavi, the first section of the Varnam (short metrical composition in Carnatic music). Charanam follows anupallavi and can occur towards the end of the varnam. Multiple charanam stanzas, can be sandwiched between pallavi and anupallavi.

  Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala. During the ten-day-long celebrations, the front courtyard is decorated with flower carpets showcasing freshly plucked, seasonal spring flowers and colours endemic to Kerala.

  Lungi is an informal, coloured variation of the more formal mundu (usually white or ecru with/without border), worn wrapped around the waist and allowed to hang down. It is worn by men, and sometimes also by women.

  Kaattuchembakam: Invocation to Chembakam or Flower of Wild Champak tree known for its enticing smell. The invocatory phrase to the beloved, ‘Oh, my kattu chembakam’ is from a popular Malayalam film song, sung by A.M. Raja.

  Prana in Indian philosophy indicates ‘life force’ of the soul.

  Nair is a socially prominent Hindu caste, many of whom had martial lineages and were feudal overlords. During and after British rule, Nairs enjoyed prominent positions in Government Service, Medicine, Education, and Law.

  PART ONE

  DHARMA

  1. The Address

  Manvantara: In Hindu mythology, Manu is the progenitor of all manavas or human beings. According to the Bhagavad Gita the lifespan of one Manu, one manvantara, is seventy-one mahayugas, and each mahayuga is 4,320,000 years.

  Kindi: A traditional hand held pitcher with a spout, usually of Bell metal, used to carry water for puja or cleaning.

  Thorth: A loosely woven, thin body towel used for drying the hair and body, used ubiquitously by Malayalis. Women wrap it like a sarong while bathing, and men don it around the waist while bathing or working in the fields. When worn on one shoulder, instead of a shirt and, with a mundu, it can indicate respect and formality.

  Kadavu: River ghat for bathing, washing, and boats to dock.

  Thiruvithamkoor: Erstwhile kingdom with Ananthapuram as its capital. Included present day Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala.

  Marotti oil: Hydnocarpus oil, used as fuel and medicine in India and China.

  Palaka: Wooden plank used as a stool for seating, especially for eating. An uruli is a wide-bottomed, traditional vessel for cooking.

  Vidhooshakan: A jester in classical Sanskrit theatre.

  Koothambalam: The temple-theatre for Koothu and Koodiyaattam performances.

  Kuduma: Tuft of hair knotted at the back of the head, especially by Brahmins.

  Aattu: Blistering, blasting snap, usually to express derision and contempt.

  Chettan: It is a common suffix added to refer respectfully to an older, male sibling. Chechi is the corresponding feminine form.

  2. The Ancestors

  Para: A traditional measuring vessel for paddy, shaped out of the base of the jackfruit tree. The largest among paddy measures, a para can hold around 8 kg of rice. Even today the nirapara (para filled with paddy) is the auspicious sign of prosperity and an inevitable part of festivals and celebrations.

  Advaithasharamam: Sree Narayana Guru’s ashram at Shivagiri, Aluva, with the motto ‘All men are equal in the eyes of God’. Gandhiji had a historic meeting with him there in 1925.

  Naanu Guru: A derogatory reference to Sree Narayana Guru (1854–1928), saint, sadhu and egalitarian social reformer from the Ezhava/Thiyya community (an avarna or lower caste), who defied Brahminical tradition that allowed only a Brahmin to install idols/deities, and installed Shiva’s idol. He rejected casteism and promoted new values of spiritual freedom and social equality, based on universal education to all castes.

  Nanu: A colloquial nickname for Sree Narayana Guru.

  Pulayan: A member of the Pulaya caste, was denigrated as the lowest caste, deemed polluting untouchables. They led wretched lives, in the casteist madhouse that was Kerala.

  Shivarathri festival: At the extensive sandbanks of Periyar river in Aluva. The devotees of Shiva offer prayers and honour their ancestors, and fast through the night of the grand festival.

  Hari-Hara: Authors’ coinage to indicate incredulous amazement. Hari and Hara are Vishnu and Shiva, respectively. The reference is to the son supposed have been born of the relationship between these two males.

  Thevar: A corruption of deva (devan), which may contextually mean God or demi-god.

  Vaikom Satyagraha (1924–25): Was an agitation against untouchability in Hindu society, centred around Sri Mahadevar Temple at Vaikom. Supporte
d by Gandhiji and Sree Narayanaguru, it secured for the lower castes (the avarnas) the right to break prohibitions and enter the temple and use the public roads around the temple, prohibited to the avarnas till then.

  Swadeshabhimani K. Ramakrishna Pillai: A writer, editor-journalist, and political activist, famed for his brave stance against the atrocities of the Diwan and the King of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore. He was known by the name of the newspaper Swadeshabhimani he edited. He was arrested, exiled and his newspaper and press confiscated jointly by the officers of the British Raj and the King.

  Tharavad: Ancestral homes of Nairs (and later, for also, Ezhavas, Muslims and Christians) jointly held as the common property of the members of the joint family. It also, signifies a moneyed and weighty heritage.

  Sambandhams: A form of marital system, or cohabitation, practised by the Nairs, which was contractual and dissoluble at will by both parties. A woman could have Sambandhams with a male of her same caste or of superior caste.

  Marumakkathaayam: Matrilineal System, common among Nairs, which placed the Karanavar, or the oldest maternal uncle as the head of the ancestral house, or tharavad, and his nephews and nieces as beneficiaries to jointly held, indivisible family property. It was one of the few traditional systems that gave women some liberty, and the right to property.

  The Second Nair Act of 1925: Took away the right of nephews to be direct heirs of their uncle’s property, leading to the dismantling of marumakkathaayam and the eventual breakup of the joint family system.

  Pudava: A wedding mundu set or sari that a groom formally offers to his bride, as part of the Sambandam or marriage ritual.

  Gurudevan: Literally, Lord-Guru, the popular name for Sree Narayana Guru, especially among his disciples.

  3. Thachanakkara

  E.K. Nayanar: A leader of Communist Party of India (Marxist), was the longest-serving chief minister of Kerala, and held the post three times. He was very popular for his rustic dialect and earthy humour.

  Advaitha Vedanta philosophy: Propagated by Adi Shankara or Shankaracharya. Young Shankara’s timely, on-the-spot decision to become a sanyaasi or ascetic is supposed to have saved him from the clutches of crocodiles that caught him while he was having a bath in the Periyar river, now known as the Crocodile Ghat at Kalady.

  Sree Padmanabhan: The Kings of Thiruvithaamkoor (Travancore) serve the kingdom as Padmanabha dasas or the vassals of the principal deity Padmanabhan of Shree Padmanabha Swami Temple. In Thiruvithaamkoor, the State currency was Chakram coins and the Travancore rupee.

  Chakyar Koothu: A classical performance art of Kerala, a solo narrative performance dealing with stories from Hindu epics, interspersed with mime and comic interludes. A traditional equivalent of the modern stand-up comedy act, in Koothu, the Chakyar satirises the manners and customs of the time and spares none. His wit ranges from innocent mockery to veiled innuendoes, barbed pun and pungent invectives.

  Aattakatha: Literally, a ‘story for dancing and acting’, it is the lyrical libretto used in the classical dance drama of Kathakali.

  An Anna (ana): Was a currency unit formerly used in India, equal to 1/16 of a rupee. It was subdivided into 4 Paise or 12 Pies (thus, there were 64 paise in a rupee and 192 pies).

  Vaidyans: Traditional apothecaries, practitioners of Ayurvedic medical treatment.

  Lord Parashuraman: As an adolescent, he obeyed his father, Jamadagni, and beheaded his mother whose chastity his father doubted. However, using the boon his pleased father offered him, he brought his mother back to life.

  4. Glorious Mother

  Naazhi: The smallest of paddy measuring pans, capable of holding around 200 grams of paddy.

  5. Two Kinds of Rivers

  Sayyip: A corruption of the Hindi word sahib, which means ‘sir’, ‘master’ etc.

  Pattar: A corruption of the Sanskrit ‘Bhattar’ for Iyers and Iyengars, who were Tamil Brahmin migrants in Kerala.

  ‘Veena Poovu’ (‘Fallen Flower’): Kumaran Asan’s highly philosophical poem is an allegory of the transience of the mortal world, told through the brief life of a flower.

  Gurudevan at Shanthiniketan: Rabindranath Tagore.

  Edappally Raghavan Pillai and Changampuzha Krishna Pilla: The popular romantic poets of twentieth century.

  ‘Changampazha’: Naraapilla’s deliberate mispronunciation of Changampuzha’s name, the celebrated and influential Malayalam poet known for his romantic pastoral elegy, Ramanan (1936), which sold for an unprecedented 100,000 copies, shows the ignorance and arrogance of Naraapilla.

  Kuttipuzha Krishna Pillai (1900–1971): Noted Malayalam literary critic, who was initially an admirer of Narayana Guru. He is known for being an atheist.

  6. Casteism

  Guru Nithya Chaithanya Yathi (1923–1999): Philosopher, psychologist, professor, writer-poet, succeeded as the head of Narayana Gurukulam, following Natarajaguru, who was in turn the successor to Narayana Guru.

  Swami Chinmayananda (1916–1993): A Hindu spiritual teacher who founded the Chinmaya Mission to spread the knowledge of Advaita Vedanta. He was a savarna (Menon caste) by birth, and the first President of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, an ultra nationalist Hindu organization for the revival of Hindu religion and culture.

  Illams: Traditional Nampoothiri houses.

  Yogakshemasabha: Progressive organization that worked for upliftment of the Namboothiri community.

  V.T. Bhattathirippad: The author of the revolutionary play Adukkalayilninnum Arangathekku (From the Kitchen to the Stage) was a social critic, well-known dramatist and a prominent freedom fighter who was a key figure in removing casteism and conservatism that plagued the Namboothiri community of Kerala.

  Antharjanam: Literally, ‘people inside the house’, and referred to Nampoothiri women, who led restricted lives bound by rituals, traditions and rules.

  Temple Entry Proclamation of 1936: Issued by Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the last Maharaja of Travancore, abolishing the ban on low-caste people entering Hindu temples in the state of Travancore.

  Sir C.P. Ramswamy Iyer: The Diwan of Travancore from 1936 to 1947.

  Chattambiswamikal: A great scholar saint of Kerala (1853–1924), and a contemporary of Narayanaguru, he tried to reform the caste-ridden Hindu society. His father was a Nampoothiri and mother a Nair, yet, he gave voice to the distressed castes and women.

  Ayyankali (1863–1941): A Pulaya by birth, was a social reformer who fought against discriminations against lower caste Dalits, for their right to education, fair wages and use of public roads and amenities.

  8. Outsider

  S.K. Pottekkad, Malayalam novelist, short story writer and travel writer, who won the Jnanpith Award in 1980 for his novel Oru Desathinte Katha (The Story of a Locale).

  Zamorins or Saamoothiris: The titular name for kings who ruled the erstwhile kingdom of Kozhikode (Calicut).

  9. Crepe Jasmine

  Yakshis: As per folklore of southern India, are reputed to waylay men with their beauty and drink their blood

  Kosavan: The potter caste; used only for alliteration here.

  10. The Circle

  Melmundu: A piece of cloth to cover the upper body of woman.

  Vishukaineettam: The hansel given by elders to children and those younger to him on the day of Vishu.

  PART TWO

  ARTHA

  1. Transformation

  Temple Entry Edict: Proclamation by Maharaja Shri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma and his Dewan Sir C.P. Ramaswami Iyer in 1936, which abolished the ban on low-caste people from entering Hindu Temples in the state of Travancore.

  Kavu: The scared grove, presided over and protected by a deity. It can also include richly bio-diverse natural sacred spaces seen near traditional homes and temple premises. Muthappan is the colloquial usage for deity.

  Avarnar: A blanket term for people of lower castes, as Savarnas is for upper castes.

  2. Seed

  Mappilas: Malayali Muslims.

  Chechi: Suf
fix added to women’s names as a mark of respect and to indicate seniority. Literally, elder sister.

  Therandukalyanam: Celebration that marks the onset of menarche in a girl and day of her first menstruation.

  Velathis of Veluthedan community: Women of washermen/washerwomen community.

  Paayasam: Dessert served on auspicious occasions, usually at the end of the traditional feast, the sadya.

  Thiruvaathirakkali: Dance is performed by (traditionally by Nairs and other upper castes) women on the day of thiruvathira in the month of Dhanu, as a prayer to Lord Shiva for conjugal harmony and marital bliss.

  Nilavilakku: The traditional lamp integral to all rituals and ceremonies in Malayali Hindu families, is lighted in homes at sundown by young girls as a daily ritual. Art forms are also performed after the nilavilakku is lighted auspiciously.

  3. The Decade

  The Vimochana Samaram (liberation struggle) of 1958–1959: Was a combined socio-political and communal agitation launched by the Catholic Church, the Nair Service Society, and the Indian Union Muslim League, which led to the premature dismissal of the world’s first elected communist government led by Chief Minister E.M.S. Namboodiripad. The unprecedented reforms in education, land, and labour reforms initiated by the government invited opposition and outrage.

  Mannathu Padmanabhan: Nair community leader of significant stature, who unified the Nairs under the community organization of N.S.S (Nair Service Society).

  Kantambechcha Coat (the patchwork coat): The first colour film in Malayalam.

  EMS: The popular short form for Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (1909–1998), the Indian communist politician and theorist, and the first Chief Minister of Kerala state in 1957–59 and then again in 1967–69. A member of the Communist Party of India (CPI), he was the first non-Indian National Congress chief minister in the Indian republic, and headed the world’s first democratically elected Communist Party government. The communist government under EMS initiated radical reforms that alarmed its critics, forcing the Congress Ministry in Delhi to make an anti-democratic dismissal of the ministry.