It always amuses me when Indian English writers & movie makers are accused of painting India in fancy exaggerated tones to pander to the Western concept of India & Indianness. An Arundhati Roy talking about incestuous relationships or a Mira Nair about child molesting uncles is contemptuously dismissed by a number of people as merely catering to the west and the west influenced upper class of urban India.(tempted though I am, I shall in view of the word limit crisis that I shall encounter later on in the review, refrain from analysing the same).
Shashi Tharoor’s debut novel’’’’The Great Indian Novel“ presents a lot of material for such accusations. However from the title to the content you have to be a “propah’ Indian down to the last bone in your body, if you’re going to truly appreciate this book. This is a satire and is the case with such works you have to be an insider, to really “get” the joke.
Among the tributes published on the back flap, I liked best the one by the spirited Indian daily, the Indian Express which declared that “Every sane Indian should buy this book”!!Brimming with joy at the confidence bestowed in my mental faculties(the existence of which has been seriously doubted in recent times) by good old Indian Express, I settled down to read it right away.
The book claims to be ‘a dazzling marriage of Hindu myth and modern history’.Even on the face of it, the choice seems perfect.What better way to narrate the events of political India than through the greatest political saga of them all. For the Mahabharata is probably the earliest account of the struggle for power and control.It is the story of the great war of Kurukshetra between the Pandavas and the Kauravas- the story of the war to establish the right over the Indian throne.Underlying it is the eternal conflict of Dharma versus Adharma.
“The Great Indian Novel“ is also a political saga. The author through the voice of Ved Vyas takes us through the major events that shaped India’s destiny in the period that eventually culminated in freedom from the British. The second half of the book deals with the rise(& decay) of independent India & the woman who ruled her(Indira Gandhi ruled India for almost two decades from the 60’s to the 80’s).It takes the characters out of the Mahabharata , paints them with unmistakable traits of modern Indian politicians & in the process, turns both the ancient Indian epic & history(the way its taught to Indian school children)on its head.
The Characters
As was the case with the Mahabharata, the Great Indian Novel is being narrated by a Mr. Ved Vyas or V.Vji as he is more commonly known, to a big nosed South Indian by the name of Ganapati.
The Mahabharata’s indomitable Bhishma earlier known as Gangaputra (having been born of Ganga to King Shantanu)is the central character in this book. Loin clad, bald headed, bespectacled, Gangaji as he is known in the book, is a most humorous cross between the patriarch of the Mahabharata , the man who began it all & Gandhiji, the father of modern India.
Dhritarashtra is Gangaji’s protégé within the Kaurava Party (the congress party), his heir apparent, the nation’s golden boy. Oxford educated & suave, the author leaves no doubts as to his modern day equivalent-he is none other than Jawaharlal Nehru with Gandhari the Grim as the ailing, all suffering Kamala Nehru.
Cut to the scene of Gandhari in labour- images of lightning & torrential rain, jackals baying in the jungle & vultures circling the skies & amidst all this cacophony, Gandhari gives birth to a daughter. They name her Priya Duryodhani. VVji proclaims to a disappointed Gandhari (who had been expecting a 100 sons) that her daughter shall one day grow up to rule the nation. And you realise that Indira Priyadarshini Nehru has just been introduced.
The Play with names
The play with names is most hilarious. Some of the really funny ones apart from Gangaji & Priya D are – as Nehru’s political nemesis, Mohammed Ali Karnah (Jinnah), ManiMir (Cash Mir), Snup-ing, the capital of Chakra ( PEEKing, the Chinese capital).
The Philosophy
The Mahabharata stands out for its discussions on human behaviour & its general philosophy. Tharoor does not let us down either. VVji often pauses in the midst of his dialogue to reflect on the events he had just narrated to his scribe.( I have tried to reproduce my fav one in as condensed a form as is possible).
“The world was not made by a tranquil wave of smooth occurrences but by accidents, emergencies and mishaps. The cosmos is moving from one crisis to the other and in the process is constantly being reshaped. The forces of destiny are unshaken and continue their course unheeding of the events that may occur around them. It may seem that the vehicle of life and politics has gone off-track but the site of the accident turns out to have been the intended destination.
And in his inimitable humour laced style the author makes a few revealing character studies. Gandhiji believed in the power of truth-his truth, for he assumed his truth was the universal truth. Nehru was well meaning but allowed himself, perhaps not entirely unwillingly to be pulled into the petty struggle for power and dominance. Indira Nehru Gandhi made the grevious mistake of believing she was indispensable and she alone held the key to Indian problems.
Reflections
I wonder what it is about us humans and this need to deify /glorify people? The Mahabharata proved that even Yudhishtir, the paragon of virtue, the embodiment of Dharma resorted to a lie to achieve his end and proved that he was not infallible.
A Mohandas K Gandhi who stood up for his ideals & for his country was elevated to the status of a Mahatma. However we gloss over the fact that he had his failings. Whether it be eye-brow raising eccentricities like forcing his wife to lie naked next to him as an ultimate test of his self-control or more profound ones like his inability to prevent the partition of India despite his promise never to let that happen. He was only an ordinary man albeit one with extraordinary vision. Isn’t it possible that he might have been frustrated by the tag of ‘Mahatma’–the great soul? Would our history have been different if he had not had to maintain his image?(Today we continue to deify people around us - Sachin Tendulkar is increasingly (& quite irritatingly)being referred to as a fallen God- but do we ever stop to wonder if his natural brilliance has been stifled by the unrelenting pressure of unearthly performances every single time?)
Tharoor concludes his brilliant book with his version of Yudhishtir’s conversation with Yama, the Lord of Death.He ruminates on what might have been and exhorts all to remember that there is no one Dharma, no one truth.Dharma is constantly evolving. Our standards and our code of conduct must come not from our past but from our present.
This is a masterpiece in writing.It appears to be a typical satire replete with humour (sometimes crude)& sarcasm but the increasingly thought provoking pauses in the narration where the author puts forth his philosophy in the form of a monologue by VVji raises the book above the level of an ordinary satire and makes it quite unlike anything I have ever read before. It may upset a few conservative Gandhians and die hard Congressmen(a fast dying species) but I suspect that would make it that much more appealing!!