BOOKS

The real and the mythical

K.N.PANIKKAR

Kesavante Vilapangal by M. Mukun- dan, D.C. Books, Kottayam; pages 206, Rs. 75.

THE latest novel by M. Mukundan, one of the progenitors of modernity in Malayalam literature, is intensely political like all his earlier works. His novels and short stories have been sensitive to the people's struggle for liberation from colonial domina tion, the post-colonial disappointment and frustration, and the brutalisation that slowly set in in Indian society. Thematic novelty and innovative craft are the hallmarks of his earlier works, which have earned him much literary recognition and acclaim. His recent novel, Kesavante Vilapangal (The Lamentations of Kesavan), which breaks new ground in both conception and composition, is likely to create considerable interest and even controversy.

The formation and articulation of the Left political consciousness in Kerala form the central theme of the novel, whose focus is on E.M.S. Namboodiripad, who, arguably, exercised the most decisive influence on its course. Yet this is not a work on or abo ut EMS, despite such an impression that the copper plate etching of EMS embossed on the cover will possibly create.

It is neither a biographical account of EMS nor a representation, faithful or otherwise, of his social and political activism. The novel therefore escapes being a caricature of EMS, as in Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things or in some Malayala m literary resurrections after his death. At the same time, the presence of EMS in the novel is overarching, almost divine and mythical, which mediates at every stage, decisively influencing its course.

Kesavante Vilapangal has a multi-layered structure with a complex narrative strategy that brings out a relationship, almost symbiotic in nature, between its two main strands. There are, in fact, two intertwined and complementary plots in the nove l. The first is about the tensions and travails as well as the popular recognition involved in the production of a literary work, drawing upon contemporary political issues and leaders. This is exemplified by the experience of the protagonist of the nove l, Kesavan, a fairly successful writer, who undertakes to compose a novel on EMS. The second is the novel so written by Kesavan in which EMS looms large through a mythic presence in the life of a boy named Appukuttan. In the course of the narrative the d istinction between the narrator and the narrated is so blurred that the former becomes a victim of the fallout of his own creative effort.

The myth takes shape in the life of Appukuttan while he was still in the cradle. Its beginning is marked by the inexplicable influence on the boy exercised by a photograph of EMS fixed on the wall by Appukuttan's uncle. He grows up in its enchanting pres ence and is enamoured of the leader's childlike smile and the red colour that embellished the portrait's background. The child, it appeared, was in constant communication with the photograph, so much so that he protested when his view was obstructed by a change in the position of the cradle. In due course the myth assumes dynamic qualities, directing the mental and physical world of the child. In a crowded fair he could, even when he was only three years old, lead his father to the place where the photo graph of EMS was on sale along with those of innumerable gods and goddesses. Or is it that the photograph was drawing him towards it? The influence thus exercised was so overpowering that the child in Appukuttan was marginalised; he did not enjoy the com pany of his friends nor indulge in what children are normally fond of. His world was confined to EMS and to the possibilities inherent in the ideas that he represented. His sole ambition was to pursue the path charted out by EMS and to end up as a martyr for that cause. As a result he sought to fashion himself in the image of EMS, meticulously tried to follow and internalise the details of his life and to devote himself to the pursuit of the ideals set by him. Yet, EMS remained enigmatic and mythical - distant but intimate, elusive but accessible, and awe-inspiring but gentle. He had no opportunity to know the 'real' EMS - Mukundan's engagement is not with the real - but the myth is so firmly embedded in his mind that he effortlessly translates it i nto real politics.

The translation of the myth into the reality of politics is facilitated by the mediation of his school teacher, Aman Master, who transforms Appukuttan from a dull and indifferent student to a front-runner in the class. Aman Master envisions in him a futu re leader and, reminiscent of the role school teachers have played in the dissemination of Left influence in Kerala, guides him in that direction. To the dismay of his father, a disillusioned naxalite who sought solace in religion, Appukuttan, though onl y 15 years, associates himself with the Communist Party. His ambition always was to become a martyr which he ultimately becomes by killing another former naxalite who had turned an alcoholic and committed the 'sacrilege' of urinating on a photograph of E MS. Appukuttan is arrested and taken to jail where he finds fulfilment in the strong arms of EMS who descends from a red star in the sky surrounded by a red halo. Thus Kesavan's political choice is clearly delineated.

KESAVAN'S attempt to construct the myth of EMS elicits a variety of responses. A Left-leaning intellectual and literary critic warns him that writing on a theme that he is ignorant of is not short of serious danger.

That he buttresses his arguments with quotations from Living in Truth by Vaclav Havel and Reality Effect by Ronald Barthes is possibly intended as a comment on the intellectual practice in Kerala.

However, when the novel was completed, the same critic writes a laudatory review and also offers to use his political influence to get Kesavan important positions in government-controlled academies. He also receives a lucrative offer from a commercial pu blisher. All of these Kesavan rejects with disdain. To him, the moment of fulfilment was beyond all these, when the myth he created turns real and EMS appears in person before him, though for a fleeting moment, to bless him and thus give recognition to h is creative ability.

The opposition to and disapproval of Kesavan's work were equally sharp. They presumably came from the Hindu fundamentalist groups which sent him anonymous letters threatening him for writing on the present-day Sankaran and not on Adi Sankara. This is rem iniscent of the tactics of Hindu communalists who threaten and intimidate the secular intelligentsia who are critical of their cultural and political projects. Kesavan ignored the threat and publicly denounced it, which led to his murder. The novel thus ends by underlying the ominous possibilities inherent in Hindu fundamentalism.

The Left intellectual and political life in Kerala was largely dependent upon the theoretical erudition and political acumen of EMS. For a long time he strode like a colossus, guiding and influencing its direction. EMS was not only a leader engaged in ev eryday politics, but was an effective communicator who took great care to disseminate his ideas in society and thus to intervene in the existing social and political consciousness and eventually to transform them. The myth that the novel so cleverly crea tes is actually a reflection of this reality. But then the foregrounding of the myth is in itself an attempt to explore the meaning of the real. The subtle and suggestive manner in which the novel underlines the relationship between the real and the myth ical makes it an extremely complex work, compelling a critical introspection on how political ideals make or unmake the popular consciousness.