“Anthill”, the English translation of the Malayalam novel, “Puttu” by Vinoy Thomas , is a very engaging read. I haven’t yet read the original. So there is no way I can say where K.Nandakumar’s translation stands in comparison to “puttu”. But without that reference point, I can certainly say that it was a very smooth read, doing complete justice to the nuances in the story .
The really vast range of characters and their individual stories and how those threads have been woven together around the spindle that is the Reformation House , the residence of Jeremias, the central character, is amazing.
Perumbaadi, a supposedly “imaginary” place, created by the author is very much a man’s world, right from the beginning when the karanavar settles down in the virgin forestland with the daughter he has made pregnant. Not sure, but Vinoy may have drawn a parallel with the city of Sodom in the Bible, which was notorious for not just the sexual licentiousness, but for all kinds of unrestrained vices and cruelty.
The place is situated around the Iritty river, which in real life is a region of hardworking settlers. The author too is from Iritty. One can therefore assume that some of the stories and incidents must have been borrowed and duly modified to prevent accusations of character vilification from some of the individuals who must be still around 
Many reviews I read, had stated that the large number of characters in this book reminded the readers of the novel “One hundred years of Solitude” by Marquez. I had read that book long ago. Unfortunately, that is a not a book that has stayed with me and I remember almost nothing about it. The characters in this book, however are likely to hover around in my mental scape for quite some time, although I may forget the names, because they are more real and representative of people around us.
Then again, there surely cannot be such a place like Perumpaad, where almost every character’s predominant nature is his sexual drive .
Yes, morality is not absolute and religious institutions have quite often justified what in today’s world we would see as violation of human rights. An example is the “Doctrine of Discovery” the legal and religious concept put forward by England, which stated that the culture and religion of the European people was superior to all others and hence the annihilation of the indigenous tribes of North America was justified. Even slavery had followed from that initial concept. So, it would seem that morality can be constructed to suit vested interests as well.
One can find any number of examples of the changing definitions of what is to be considered as moral throughout history. Even now, the traditions of tribal societies would be far different from the so called “civilized” world but with more harmony amongst each other and with the natural world around them. In their world “exploitation” of any kind would perhaps be considered as the greatest vice and rightfully so. In their eyes, the world outside would be “immoral”.
I guess the point is that when any community agrees upon certain norms of behavior for everyone, breaking that at the cost of causing harm to someone else, would come to be seen as a wrong. In my mind that can be the only way of personally defining one’s behavior to a certain extent, including our very basic urges to do or not do something depending on our emotional or hormone –driven or other “needy” states. And that is perhaps why the need for something like the Reformation house and someone like Jeremias will always be there, even in a place as lawless as Perumbaadi.
The novel also perhaps hints at the need for a more humane and more practical approach to the transgressions committed. Unlike the legal approach, someone like Jeremias and his father Paul before him, who takes upon the task of mediation, know everything about the two parties concerned and the history that came before the eventual act of transgression . The decision is therefore more fair and equitable.
Local institutions like the khap panchayats in the villages of North India must have had its origins in similar ways. Khap Panchayats are however extremely patriarchal and governed by caste hierarchy and hence do not serve the purpose of justice and fair play in today’s democracy when everyone is supposed to have equal rights. In Perumpaadi , on the other hand, religion or caste plays absolutely no role. Yes, there is a church , but that too is not represented in this book as an institution of impeccable righteousness. Human frailties abound there too.
Perumpaadi ,as I said, is a man’s world , including the tea stall of Prasannettan, which has a poster of Silk Smitha on the wall and lascivious gossip is handed out along with the cups of tea and lapped up with equal gusto. The men who came and settled there, along with the women they dragged along , are those whose baser instincts made them “shed the shackles of family, religion and other restraining institutions” as given in the description of the book on Amazon. They had all run away to this place where no one pried or asked questions because everyone had a similar history.
However, one is just not able to see Perumbaadi as a place to be celebrated , because for every Balettan, there was a Velu and Chandri who suffered from his drunken bouts, for every Loius there was a Sicily who was physically mistreated and who was made to feel grateful only because she was eventually allowed to sleep in the same room and same bed as her husband. For every duck breeder Chacko who had liasons all over the place there was an Appam Mary, one of his wives, and their daughter Preetha, who were led to prostitution for a living. For every Augustine there was Rosily and her children.
Morality, as merely some tenets that provide no logical reasons for abiding by them and the breaking of which does not impinge upon any other life, does not make much sense. But even in the most liberal societies, the importance of fairness cannot be done away with. We should have no objection to Arun chosing to lead his life with his boyfriend according to his sexual orientations. The problem is when he has no qualms about going ahead with his marriage with Neeru and then leaving her to deal with her deprived, lonely life.
Jeremias is the one who is the most humane , understanding and well-intentioned human being in Perumbaadi and yet he is the one who received the worst deal….from the point of view of having to be subsumed with the guilt of having had a physical relationship with his daughter –in-law, Neeru. That is where the definition of “morality” is on shaky ground. What if it was not considered wrong for them to get married? They had great regard for each other, which could easily develop into love. They were both alone and their living together would have affected none.
And then there is the cute tale of the tribal couple and the uncle of the girl,who was dragged to the presence of Jeremias by the panchayat member who couldn’t stand the seemingly sinful state of their interpersonal relationships. The uncle was having a physical relationship with the girl . Neither the husband nor the girl were offended , nor did they allow that to come in the way of their love for each other. It was not a forbidden thing amongst them. The husband did have a problem with the uncle suckling at his wife’s breasts while making love to her, for the only reason that he felt that the mother’s milk was only meant for their child. The uncle had agreed to stop doing so when the issue was raised and none of the three required any further mediation in the matter. All three of them were chuckling as he case was being presented and it makes us smile too.
And Jeremias did not interfere either, in spite of the Panchayat member being scandalized.
Neeru starts working and living in the convent , which too had much going on . Valsa chettathy, a transgender , who does the cooking for the nuns, is called upon on most nights, to ostensibly “pick lice” by turn from the hair of the nuns. She is in fact, an unwilling tool for the satiation of their physical needs, as she later explains to Neeru.
In a scene which reminds the reader of the most touching scene in John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” when the daughter Rose of , breastfeeds the dying man, Neeru sleeps with Elsa Chettathy , and their physical act is filled with immense tenderness in total contrast to all the sexual “conquests’ of all the male characters in Perumpaadi.
One felt that in spite of the initial impression that the novel is a call for a less inhibited society, it is definitely more layered. Some of the strong female characters, who manage to hold their own in that male world , would point to that…whether it is Bhawani Daivam, who have the men unloading their angst at her feet , or Katrina Chettathy who envelops her dear ones in her nurturing arms, or Neeru who stands tall and defines her life afresh on her own terms or Appam Mary or her daughter Preetha who refuses to sit and cry about their fate or Ayesha, Shukkur Haji’s first wife who is the epitome of a forgiving nature……… so many, in fact.
The entire tale is steeped in black humour and there is not a boring moment, even as one cringes and feels angry and outraged and sad as the stories unfold. Balls get squeezed between benches and scorched by a hot rod in the blacksmith’s smithy …which is just as well, I thought
Anthill has been published by Penguin Random House
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