Gift in Green by Sarah Joseph summary

Coexistence of Nature and Tradition in Sarah Joseph's Gift in Green:

Chapter : 1

INTRODUCTION:

          Indian English was originated from British English. It set foot in India with the granting of the East India Company Charter by Queen Elizabeth I in1600. The view of the English language among many Indians has gone from associating it with colonialism to associating it with economic progress. English continues to be an official language of India. Indian English literature specifically refers to works written in English by Indian writers. It has developed over a period of time and writing in English did not start in a day. It took years and hard work of several distinguished people to bring the current status. It is nearly 150 years old.

          Novel writing has become a popular form of literature. People were interested in reading novels and it has become a passion. It gives a scope of change and development in the society. Indian novels help as an instrument to generate thought and bring a transformation and reformation in society. In  recent  times  Indian  English  novel  has  acquired  a  position  at  the  top  rung  among  all  the  forms  of  literature.  It  stands  at  par  with  its  counterparts  written  in  the  English-speaking  countries. The term ‘novel’ originally meant a 'fresh story’ in prose as distinguished from a story in verse. Literature is an imaginative recreation of life and as such it is both the real life and the imaginative life at the same time. Likewise, fiction is mainly created from the imagination and the fact. Some novels are based on the true story or situation. 'Fiction’ is the word derived from the Latin word 'Fictus’ which means the act of making, fashioning or moulding. Fiction contains certain symbolic and thematic features known as literary merits. In other words fiction narrates a story which aims at something bigger than merely a story. Fiction may be based on stories of actual historical events; characters presented in a fiction may have resemblance to real life events and characters.

          Indo-Anglian literature refers to the body of work by writers in India who write in the English language and whose native or co-native language could be one of the numerous languages of India. Some Indo-Anglian works may be classified under the genre of postcolonial literature, the repertoire of Indian English literature encompasses a wide variety of themes and ideologies, from the late eighteenth century to the present day, and thereby eludes easy categorization. Indian writing in English delves into the influences and pressures of the marketplaces on this genre, contending that it has been both a gatekeeper and a significant force in shaping the production and consumption of this literature. The Indian English writers have been able to grow wings of creative self expression. And also Indian writing in English is no longer a boggie attached to the British Engine, but it is running smoothly on its own track with the help of its own engine. It is gaining around by leaps and bounds not only in the field of Indian fiction, but all the writings like poetry and drama.

          The first book in Indian English literature is Sake Dean Mahomet‘s Travels of Dean Mahomet. It was published in the year 1793 in England. Among the major genres of literature, novel is the best genre in Indian English literature. The first Indian novel in English is Bankim Chandra Chatterjee‘s Rajmohan’s Wife. The novel was published in 1864. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, R.K.Narayan, Rabindranath Tagore and Mulk Raj Anand are recognized for their contributions of Indian English literature After  1980,  Indian  writing  shot  into  international limelight  through  the  works  of  a  number  of  novelists  like Anita Desai, Salman Rushdie, Khushwant Singh, Vikram Seth, Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy and Chetan Bhagat.  The heritage of Indian English literature has well flourished. The majority of writers have contributed to novel.

          Indian women novelists have given a new dimension to Indian English literature. Women writers are not only contributed to novel, but also to all genres in Indian literature. In the middle of  the 19^th  century,  more  women  started  to  write  in  English  language. In course of time, English literature has many changes in writing style. In early writings women write about female experience and domestic life. The women in Indian fiction reveal pathetic condition of women in India. Raja Ram Mohan Roy is a famous social activist and reformer of India. Roy is notable for his efforts to abolish Sati and Child marriage. The works of Tagore tell the plight of Indian women. 

          The middle-nineties are the best period in portraying women as the protagonist and the center of the novel. The plot focuses on female bereavement, marital discord, suppression, marginalization, alienation and identity crisis. The early novels of Kamala Markandaya, Mahasweta Devi and Sarojini Naidu show the suffering and the problems of women in Indian society. Those novels mirror the status of women in the male dominated society.

          In the twenty first century Indian English literature is dominated by women writers. The modern Indian women novelists in English are Anita Desai, Sashi Deshpande, Shobhaa De, Arundati Roy, Anita Nair, Chitra Banerjee Devakaruni, Manju Kapur and Jaishree Misra. They set a permanent place in Indian English fiction. In their writing, they have portrayed the male domination and female control by male. Women writers try to write woman as a woman. The writing reflects a long conflict between male and female. This makes their writing very clear as women‘s writing.

          Malayalam language assimilated new genres and styles and gradually built up a rich regional literary tradition, an integral part of Indian literature. However, it is only in the twentieth century, with the advent of social modernity, that Malayalam literature has completely transformed itself into a truly independent literature that can encompass all classes and communities. Now, Malayalam literature responds to the cultural  trends  of  other  prominent  literatures  in  the  east  and  the  west.  And  it  is  also  able  to  contribute  exemplary  works  of  poetry  and  fiction,  in  return  to  the  larger  world  beyond  the  geographical  boundaries  of  Kerala.

          Malayalam  literature  comprises  those  literary  texts  written  in  Malayalam,  a  South-Dravidian  language  spoken  in  the  Indian state  of  Kerala. The first novel conceived and published in Malayalam was Appu Nedungadi’s Kundalatha (1887). Though Kundalatha is not considered a major novel, it gets the pride of place as the first work in the language having the basis characteristics of a novel. O.Chandhu  Menon’s  Indulekha  was  the  first  major  novel  in  Malayalam  language.  It  was  a  landmark  in  the  history  of  Malayalam  literature  and  initiated  the  novel  as  a  new  flourishing  genre. The  grand narrative  found  its rightful  place  in  Malayalam  fiction  during  the  period  after  independence. Maniyambath Mukundan,  commonly  known  as  M.Mukundan,  is  an  Indian  writer  of  Malayalam  literature.  He  is  known  to  be  one  of  the  pioneers  of  modernity  in  Malayalam  literature. His notable works are Mayyazhippuzhayude Theerangalil, Daivathinte Vikrithikal,  Kesavante Vilapangal and Pravasam.   

          Sarah Joseph is  one  of  the  famous  women  Malayalam writers  of  the  present  age. She is a growing woman writer in Indian English literature. She is an novelist and short story writer of Malayalam, and also an eminent environmentalfeminist. She was born in a conservative Christian family at Kuriachira in Thrissur city in 1946. Her father, Louis was inclined to Marxian ideology and her mother Kochumariam was a typical conservative Christian type house wife. She  was  married  at the  age  of  15,  when  she  was  in  class  IX.  She  has  attended  the  teacher's  training  course  and began  her  professional  career  as  a  school  teacher. Later, she has received her B.A. and M.A. in Malayalam  as a private candidate and joined the collegiate service in Kerala. She has served as a professor of Malayalam at Sanskrit College, Pattambi. She has retired  from  government  service  and  lives  at  Mulamkunnathukavu  in  Thrissur  district.  She has two daughters, Geetha Joseph and Sangeetha Srinivasan.

          Sarah Joseph has been the forefront of feminist movement and a well-known activist and the forefront of several agitations in Kerala. She was an ardent left sympathiser. But she joined the  Aam Aadmi Party in January 2014 and was fielded by the party as a candidate from the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency in the 2014 parliament elections, but lost to C.N.Jayadevan of Communist Party of India. The politics of Sarah Joseph's writings is in the specificity of women's writing. She maintains that women cannot think, act or desire except in narrative. It is the mandate of the woman as writer to identify how narratives have hereto sought to naturalise oppression and legitimise its own status. Sarah Joseph is the recipient of the very first O.V.Vijayan Sahitya Puraskaram  (O.V.Vijayan Literary Award). In 2012, she won the Padmaprabha Literary Award.

          Joseph's literary career began very earlier, when she was in high school. Many of her poems appeared in Malayalam weeklies. She was also good at reciting her poems at poet’s meets which was much appreciated by poets like Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon and Edasseri Govindan Nair. After a short period of uncertainty, she took to fiction and began writing short stories. Her collection of short stories Paapathara is considered a milestone in feminist writing in Malayalam.

          Sarah Joseph emanates more light and heat as she climbs up the literary horizon, and as a result her fiction draws serious critical appraisal. Her awards have alerted serious rethinking on woman’s writing and subaltern literature in the literary circles of Kerala. She began her literary career by reciting poems. Later she wrote short stories such as Manassile Thee Matram (1973), Kadinte Sangeetham (1975, anthology of short stories), Paapathara, Oduvilathe Suryakanthi, Nilavu Nirayunnu, Puthuramayanam, Kaadithu Kandaayo Kaanthaa and Nanmathinmakalude Vriksham (anthology of  short  stories). Her novels are Thaikulam, Aalahayude Penmakkal (1999), Maattaathi (2003), Othappu (2005), Aathi (2011), Ooru Kaval (2008), Aalohari Anandam (2013) and Budhini (2019).

         The struggles of women in the dominant social, cultural and economic structures are the major themes of Sarah’s novels. Her last novel Aathi (Gift in Green), which is translated into English by Valson Thampu, throws light on the preservation of the ecological conservation. She has won the Kerala Sahitya  Akademi Award, the Kendra Sahitya Academi Award and the Vayalar Award for her novel Aalahayude Penmakkal (Daughters of God the Father). She has also received Muttathu Varkey Award for her collections of short stories titled Papathara. She has published a trilogy of novels which includes Aalahayude Penmakkal, Maattaathi and Othappu. Her works are essentially liberalistic and convey the sentiments of various oppressed groups.

          In Malayalam, Sarah Joseph has articulated her anxieties over such depoliticising moves in the name of an aesthetics that has universal validity. Her creative obsession with the Ramayana tradition can be seen as one of the ways in which a writer can undo the layers of signification that have supported male-centric views in our epics. Manthara in Karutha Thulaikal (Black Holes), Soorpanakha in Thaikulam (Mother’s Clan) and Sita in Asoka speak in their own voices about their particular thoughts and emotions. In consciously doing away with the mediating role of men who interpret women's experiences for the women themselves, Sarah Joseph shows how epics can be used to construct a link between events in the past and how we view them today. The pain of a sensitive soul to the violence that acts as a sub-text to history and literature that are essentially men's stories of maintaining mastery and control over woman's body and land is evident in every word that she has uttered. She feels strongly the need to challenge the play of power that occasions this violence.

          Sarah Joseph’s engagement with women's issues continues even now, though the nature and language of protest have changed colours. She has distanced herself from the Marxist Party, disenchanted with its shifting positions with reference to issues ranging from globalisation to violence against women. She is now seen more as a public intellectual who voices the concerns of women who are silenced by hegemonic forces. She is resolute in her opposition to all structures and institutions that formalise power, be that of the family or the church.

Joseph’s first novel Thaikulam (Mother’s Clan) exploring the eco-feminist vein. Her second novel Aalahayude Penmakkal (Daughters of God the Father) is a unique novel in Malayalam, of that fully transmits the marginalised history and experience of a subaltern group of people, in their own socio-linguistic milieu. It deals with the condition of marginalized groups in society pointed out as subalterns by Marxist Antonio Gramsci. The novel portrayed the living and existential conditions of these groups are seldom acknowledged by the society at large and generally they are displaced from their places of stay and livelihoods, usually in the name of development and change. This  transformation  in  their  existential  struggle  is  narrated  by  Annie an  eight-year-old  child,  the  central  character  who  gives  voice to three generations of her subaltern group albeit with a feminine  perspective. The pathos of marginalization and the pains of suffocated subordination are unveiled through the life sketches of three generations of women at Kokkanchara.

Joseph’s  third  novel  Maattaathi depicts  the  story  of  an  orphaned  girl 

Lucy  who  is living  with  her  old  aunt  Brijita. Lucy  lives  her  life  according  to  Brijita’s  terms,  and  throughout  the  novel,  she  never  tries  to  take  life  in  her  hands. Her  fourth  novel  Othappu  is  about  a  woman’s  yearning  for  a  true  understanding  of  spirituality  and  her  own  sexuality.  And  it also  has  been  translated  into  English  by  Valson Thampu  under  the  title The  Scent  of  the  Other  Side. Her sixth novel Ooru Kaval depicts the contradiction to an epic through the eyes of Valmiki and Angada. Her seventh  novel  Aalohari Anandam (Per  Capita  Happiness)  deals  with  the  homosexuality  of  a  married  woman  and  its  impact  in  her  life  and  society. Her  novel Budhini portrays  the  lives  of  those  who  are  driven  from  their  own  soil  for  their  own  development  and  whose livelihoods  are  completely  destroyed.  A  garland  worn  by  Jawaharlal  Nehru  to  inaugurate  the  Damodar  Valley  project  destroys  Budhini’s  life. It  depicts  the  struggle  of  the  Santal  tribe  for  survival,  the  miserable  life  and  the  human  encroachment  on  the  environment.

Gift in Green, written in Malayalam, authored by Sarah Joseph, was simultaneously translated into English by Valson Thampu in 2011. It is an unconventional novel about the relationship between the people and the land they inhabit. Kumaran is a young man when he leaves from Aathi, serene land of water bodies and mangroves, for the modernity and exposure of the big city. Many years later, he returns to transmogrify Aathi into a city for a huge profit. His developmental plans such as roads and bridges chokes the water life, birds and butterflies flee the dying mangrove forests, and chemicals seep into the paddy fields that have fed generations over several hundred years. While facing the threats, people come forward to fight against the ecological destruction. However, nature cannot be contaminated forever and the water of Aathi rise in a flood to purify the land.

In the novel, there are various stories of the characters along with the main plot creates a strong impact. The novel gives the story in piecemeal manner. The characters are the inhabitants of Aathi and its surrounding area. They fight against the destruction of nature. It is because they understand that their culture and identity are related to the land they inhabit. Dinakaran, one of the main characters in the novel lives a life of simple living and high thinking. Ponmani, his friend, fight against the invaders with rage. He violently fought by destroying the bridges built by them. Here the bridge denotes the connection between Aathi and the outside greedy world. The destruction of bridge highlights the community’s restriction to safeguard the land's purity and their culture. Kumaran, the vicious character in the novel, forsakes his beloved Kunjumathu and the water life. He is the epitome of modern capitalist and consumerist tendencies. Kumaran is an example of how a person can turn into a dark path when they move away from their canopy cultural identity.

The novel depicts the environmental concerns of the writer as she describes the present day issues of Kerala. The author uses the natural parallels to illustrate the relationship between island topography and the inner human landscape. The natural imagery of water plays a significant part in depicting the novel’s plot that is the degradation of the society. It also reveals the power of nature to purify itself which is effectively conveyed by the rise of flood in the end. The impact of mindless development and the conflict of civilization and nature are visible throughout the novel. Sarah Joseph is not against development. She tries to portray the cruelty and destruction in the development. The novel paints the intense agony of community and men’s audacity to nature. The end of the novel makes it to grab a unique position by portraying the power of nature to cleanse itself. Like the flood of Noah, it cleanses the sins of human and once again flourishes into a new one. Let’s analyse the novel   elaborately in the following chapters.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ECOFEMINISM

Ecofeminism deals with the two venerable and suppressed things in the world that are woman and environment. Though it seems a novel theory, it has age-old references from an ancient world as woman and nature often compared in literary text almost all around the world. Thus, emerges the concept called ecofeminism and becomes a significant part of study in the field of literature. It aids people to protect or respect both woman and nature as the world demands it. This literary study, not like other aesthetic one which gives only pleasure and peace, predominantly provides awareness to the imperfect world about the chaotic situation of the present and instruct people to act wisely as not to hurt woman and nature. Sarah Joseph always gives voice for woman and nature against patriarchal society. Her novel Gift in Green delineates the impact of both cultural feminism and radical feminism.

Ecological feminism which is known as ecofeminism is a major classification of feminism as it studies the kinship between woman and environment. Francoise d’Eaubonne, a French feminist coined the term ‘Ecofeminism’ which reiterates that both woman and nature are devastated by the patriarchal society. Ecofeminists formerly struggle against the desolation of nature and furnish awareness about inequitable state of woman and nature due to the dominance of male-centered society. They vehemently attack the male-chauvinist society as it treats both nature and woman as objects. Besides the exploitation of nature and gender discrimination, it also deals with the spiritual connection between woman and nature. 

Ecocriticism is the study of literature and the environment from an interdisciplinary point of view, where literary scholars analyze texts that illustrate environmental concerns and examine the various ways literature treats the subject of nature.  In Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, Peter Barry quotes the words of Cheryll Glotfelty “'Simply defined, ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment’” (239). It is a critical approach which began in the USA in the late 1980s and in the UK in the early 1990s.  It is still an emergent movement.

Ecofeminists appeal for both environmentally and ethically good society that respects nature and woman. The modern ecofeminists try their hand at conjoining environmentalists and feminists under one umbrella to avert the plight in the patriarchal society. They importune all women to forge against the domination on nature in such a way it helps their liberation too. They persuade environment activists to join hand with feminists to end the male-hierarchical society. Many academic writings directly state that ecofeminism is a social movement. In his book Ecofeminism: Linking Theory and Practice, Birkeland defines the term as,

…value system, a social movement, and a practice… (which) also offers a political analysis that explores the links between androcentrism and environmental destruction. It is an “awareness” that begins with the realization that the exploitation of nature is intimately linked to western man’s attitude toward women and tribal cultures… (18) 

Sarah Joseph is actively participating in feminist movement in Kerala. Being a feminist, she makes awareness in her works about ecology and the importance of nature. Her novel Gift in Green deals with both woman and nature and their sufferings caused by men. The title ‘Gift in Green’ denotes the nature. The plot of the novel deals how Aathi, a village, is polluted by the people and how the nature reacts to it.

The central character Kumaran is a greedy man, who has run away from the village. 

Then he returns to the Aathi village only to destroy it in the name of modernization. At last, nature which is polluted to the core exhibits its aggressive as flood and

purifies itself.

The crux of Ecology claims that nature is meant for all the living creatures. Failing from the above said statement, humans collapse it by acting against the will of nature for his selfishness. In “An Ecocritical Approach on the Selected Plays of Wole Soyinka”, Ravindran defines that “The objectives of ecocriticism are an understanding of man through literature as man is an inseparable part of the environment and enhance the relationship with nature”. (94)

Nature, as a mother, gives it’s best to humans as it does to the others, but humans are failed to satisfy with it. Their greed generates ill to nature. Having dominance over nature, humans demand it to obey to their needs. Their attitude towards nature is getting worse than ever. Sarah Joseph, observer of society, reiterates the worst attitude of humans against nature in the novel Gift in Green. She expresses

it as, 

It was a little toy gun that emitted small, red spurts of potash. Even so, what a lot of noise it made! At the very first burst, scores of waterfowl scrambled up in panic, taking to their wings. What a sight it made! Dinakaran snatched the gun from Siddhu, broke it into pieces and hurled it into water. ‘Aren’t you ashamed to scare them like this?’ he admonished Siddhu. (6)

Humans think that the nature never takes avenge against their ill-treatment. They fail to open the eyes of truth that nature observes everything and it will take avenge when they destroy it. Unaware of the goodness of nature which has brought everything to humans, they always show their disloyalty to nature. Sarah Joseph echoes the importance of water through a folktale in Gift in Green. Through the story of Hagar who is abandoned with her firstborn by her husband, the writer engraves the reader’s perception of water. From the birth of human, even before that, water remains a soul creation of earth. Still, people always underrate it and take ownership on it which is highly ridiculous. 

Hagar could understand the thirst of a people, the infinite value of water and the secret of life scripted into it. She said, ‘I have no objection. But you must know that water is life itself. I shall be the caretaker of this water, guard it and mother it for the sake of my child and for the sake of the children yet to be born. This water you shall have, but only if you agree to a covenant. I insist on this not in a spirit of power or of ownership, but in the name of life. I know the value of water. To me, the value of the first drop of water is the value of the life of my firstborn. You stand excited, seeing an ample source of fresh water here before you.  But you know nothing of the value or meaning of that first drop of water, it’s coolness that flowed into my soul like the assurance of life itself. Others may not know the first drop of water. But I do, and I can’t forget what it means.  Not a drop of water shall be wasted. I won’t allow it’. (14) 

Though Hagar finds the water, she allows the nomads to take it, they are in thirst as she knows the significance of water. She considers that water has life itself, without which no one survives. She is also quite clear that nature is meant for all.

Hence, she avoids taking ownership of water she finds. In Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development, Vandana Shiva demystifies it as, “women in India are an intimate part of nature, both in imagination and practice”. (75)

Kunjimathu’s father gives priority to a farmer to marry his daughter. He considers that working with earth will furnish all sorts of pleasure. Therefore, he rejects Kumaran to marry his daughter as he is the destroyer of nature.

Kunjimathu’s father was also upset about Kumaran’s attitude. Her father would give her only to a man – by which he meant, one who took pride in working, heart and soul, with earth and water. ‘She is my only child. I don’t have a church of daughters.  All my belongings – my land and water are hers. I have trained her well to take care of them. Even so, she needs a companion. But it has to be someone whose work improves the land, and not a “magistrate” who would be a fish out of water in this place’. (20)

Ecofeminism has two major divisions like cultural ecofeminism and radical ecofeminism. The former one suggests that nature and woman are one and the same as they are sharing same activities. For instance, Procreation - creation. The latter deals with the concept that both woman and nature are destroyed continuously by men and modernization. The radical feminists strongly attack men for their ill-treatment towards nature and women. The writer compares woman to nature and its elements

like water, fire, land etc.

To be a man, one must have a body made firm by working hard on the land, tilling and sowing. To know the mind of a woman, he has to know, first, the mind if the land. How could Kunjimathu be entrusted to Kumaran who despised the land and was eager to flee from it? (20)

The greed of Kumaran drives him out from the village. He leaves his land and settles himself in a city to earn money and to live a luxurious life. As quoted here Kumaran fails to understand Kunjimathu as he fails to understand the land. Hence the land and woman are one and the same.

Kumaran has left the village for personal upliftment. He returns to his village with the intention of selling the nature of the village and destroying it for his selfishness. He claims that he wishes to help his village and his villagers to live a comfortable life but he actually throws them into apathetic life. When Kumaran’s army enters the village, 

The army marched, ploughing the river bed and crushing the empire of oysters. As the baby oysters, began to rise and float on the water, the women began to beat their breasts and wail. ‘What are you doing, you buffaloes? It is our food you’re ruining.’ While collecting oysters, they used to pick out the little ones gingerly and let them out of their nets.

(40) 

As quoted, the village people have gentle treatment of nature whereas the Kumaran’s people take the ownership and ill-treat the nature. 

Shailaja has got emotional connect with the ruining of nature. When she finds the medical wastes polluting the water, she feels restless. 

Laden with the stench, the wind was heavy. Besides placentas and murdered fetuses, Shailaja saw, emerging from innumerable cracks and crevices, severed limbs, swabs oozing with pus, blood clots, decomposed phlegm, chemical agents, plastic bottles and bags,

garbage. A terrible thirst afflicted Shailaja. Her throat was dry, her lips parched. She sweated profusely. (75)

Shailaja becomes hopeless after finding the polluted water. “Her belief that the resources for human survival rested in water, for generation to come, was shattered to smithereens” (75). The nature always paid good things to the people though the people keep on polluting it without knowing the result of it. She remembers the words of Markose, “Behold the earth. Everyone chokes her with dirt and garbage. And she?

Gives flowers, fruits, nuts, rice and wheat in return” (76). Chakkam Kandam is a village which is the best example for a polluted village. The careless mistakes of people, the way they treat nature become very important. Failing in it, people will suffer.

Prakashan loves Shailaja but he is uneducated. Once fishing is his livelihood. His greed makes him to join with Kumaran. He joins hand with him and leaves the village. Though he earns much Velayudhan, Shailaja’s father rejects him to marry his

daughter. Shailaja is married to Chandramohan of Chakkam Kandam which has everything as Aathi. It has backwaters, mangroves, fish etc. He knows the people of Chakkam Kandam well. After the wedding, Shailaja has shocked with the village of Chakkam Kandam as it is polluted much especially its water.

‘None of us ever eats or drinks anything here,’ the women said, their faces creasing with aversion. Shailaja was horrified. The wells, the ponds, the channels, the streams and backwaters, which spread like an ocean in front of the house, were all covered with layer upon layer of shit. (80)

Kumaran’s arrival into the village makes changes that spoil nature. “Ever since this thing began, baskets full of empty liquor bottles, plastic bags and rotting food had been accumulating in the mangrove forest” (86). Kumaran decides to renovate the Thampuran temple which is against the belief of village people. The village women take the problem in their hand at last. They start to assemble in the

Thampuran temple and stop Kumaran to demolish it. In “Discarded Nativity in J.M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians”, Ravindran opines that “The cultural assault affects the native psychologically” (53). Kumaran decides to destroy their culture too which makes them weak psychologically. Aathi is an ideal village which gives equal right to women. Actually, women are the one who have built the temple. Thus, women are always the symbol of creation like nature.

Tradition has it was the women of Aathi who built Thampuran’s shrine. They kneaded clay with their feet, turned it into balls, then baked and built the walls with them. They plastered the walls with a paste of finely ground soil and paddy husk and polished it further by trowelling it with stones. The walls were earth-coloured. By the time the roof was ready to be thatched, the men joined them. The women matted the palm fronds and gathered plantain strips to tie them with. Every year, thatch the roof anew. No one could tell how old the shrine was. ‘Aathiyil, or in the beginning’ – that was how everyone referred to the genesis of the shrine. Since the beginning until now, the women had been guarding and maintaining it. (118) 

Kumaran with his cunningness has reestablished the Thampuran temple. He misuses nature and the village for his business. The writer denotes the ‘age-old silence’ which is peace is violated. This is how the civilization, modernization, urbanization and globalization spoil the beauty and peace of the village and its people.

The moment Kumaran got down from the ceremonial boat he was

hailed with a deafening burst of crackers that shook the place. Birds in a state of serene meditation in the trees, bushes and paddy fields shot up to the sky, terrified. The sky grew dark. The age-old silence of Aathi is violated. The air became tense with the shrieking of birds and the flailing of wings. It stirred the water. (127) 

Sarah Joesph has given key factors by which the Aathi and other villages are brought down to the destruction.

In Gift in Green, Sarah Joseph portrays that from the beginning of the human race it is woman who leads the people not man. Woman has more strength than man in both physically and psychologically. Man is destructive towards nature and woman. Both woman and nature have their own will. Sarah Joseph compares woman with water. She says,

Their lives had been lived as if they were one with the water. There was a playfulness to the way in which the water filled their paddy fields. Water! Ever flowing like a wordless warning: ‘I am free; let me be.’ She would not brook being. Flowing ceaselessly in earth, in trees in animals, in human beings, coming down as rain, flowing along as a river, rising and roaring as the sea… (157)

Thus, cultural ecofeminism celebrates the association of woman with nature whereas radical ecofeminism rebukes patriarchal society which suppresses both woman and nature. With the help of history, radical ecofeminism, it is showed that how the male-dominated society degrades the nature and woman so far. Cultural ecofeminism advocates for the importance of preserving nature and woman who are the symbol of life. Moreover, it is essential to have a holistic outlook towards nature to fill up the gap between human and non-human entities. In this chapter, the influence of environment in literature, the nature of Aathi, cultural ecofeminism and radical ecofeminism which Sarah has portrayed in her novel, Gift in Green have been discussed in a detailed manner. Let’s discuss about revival of the subordinated gender in the following chapter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                  CHAPTER  THREE

SUBJUGATION OF WOMEN AND NATURE

Women and nature have a compatible relationship since time immemorial. Both are the synonyms of motherhood, sustenance and endurance. The oppression and subjugation of women and nature commenced with the advent of civilization. The notion of mastery over both was deeply entrenched in the psyche of the patriarchal society. Ecofeminism analyses the intimacy between women and nature. Ecofeminism analyses the intimacy between women and nature. All the dominations and hierarchies of the world are creations of patriarchal society. With the stimulus gathered from the feminist movements, women emerged to subvert the valued societal norms. There is nothing derogatory and inferior about any gender, race or sex. Gift in Green has showcased the affinity between nature and women which had existed from the beginning but which has been suppressed by societal constraints. The village of Aathi and Kunjimathu were the innocent victims of Kumaran's voraciousness. Kunjimathu's positive efforts in reclaiming Aathi have resulted in a new journey with a revival of

‘new sprouts’ of earth which will surely be a ‘Gift in Green’ to the natural ecosystem.

Ecofeminism examines the effect of gender categories in order to demonstrate the ways in which social norms exert unjust dominance over women and nature. Sarah Joseph has powerful portrayed the suppression of women and nature and the rejuvenation of the contaminated motherland through the painstaking hard work of the womenfolk in her novel Gift in Green. Ecofeminism connects the exploitation and domination of women with that of environment, and argues that there is a connection between women and nature that comes from their shared history of oppression by a patriarchal society. The age long suppression and restrictions eventually propelled them to emerge out of their cocoons. The recognition of women's identity will pave the way for the revival of the marginalized categories.

Gift in Green is an unconventional novel about a people and the land they inhabit. Aathi is a serene village that abounds in water bodies, mangroves, birds and butterflies. Initially it was an uninhabited marshy area secluded from the mainstream. Unable to bear the oppression of the landlords and the upper classes, gradually, the outcasts of the society began to settle in Aathi. It was an arduous task for them to start life from such emptiness. Kunjimathu was a beautiful young girl in her sweet sixteen who embraced Aathi as her breath. Her life was meaningless without the pristine water life of Aathi. She was the beloved of a youth named Kumaran who was resentful with the mundane village life. He was always consumed with the promises of better livelihood in the city. Kunjimathu and Kumaran's parents tried utmost to transform his mind. But Kumaran was adamant. He sold off his properties and went to

Kunjimathu’s house one night. He took her virginity and promised to return when he had discovered his fortune. As time passed by, Kunjimathu realized that she was betrayed by Kumaran who would never keep his promise. She redeemed his sold property with the money and jewels kept for her wedding. She toiled hard to transform it into a prosperous land. She experienced the pain of deception and vowed that there would be no other man in her life.

Kumaran’s return to Aathi after thirty-five years marked the downfall of nature. The exposure and modernity of the city life molded him into an affluent and highly influential business tycoon. He planned to transform Aathi into a modern village accessible to latest technologies and infrastructure. For the easy execution of his plans, Kumaran brainwashed some of the youth with the promises of increased job opportunities and advanced way of life. Gradually the village turned into two extremes between those who support and discard modernity. In the meantime, Kunjimathu also supported the campaign against Kumaran, though silently.

When things began to slip out of control, Kunjimathu lost her patience. She began to feel suffocated in such a polluted environment. She led a single-handed protest against Kumaran and his allies. She stood in the midst of the water of Aathi immersed from neck to feet. She pledged that until and unless Aathi was regained she would not quit her fast unto death. Her determination became the source of inspiration for the womenfolk. Rapidly they did all they could to cleanse Aathi. Garbage was removed and slow restoration began to take place. Meanwhile the men of the village under Dinakaran pressurized the authorities to take action against Kumaran who usurped their properties. However, the forces behind him were very powerful. Gradually, the men also joined with Kunjimathu and her friends to reclaim the lost

Aathi. Aathi was rejuvenated into its nascent and immaculate state. In the end the Government authorities accepted the people's claim to the property of Aathi.

Aathi retained its holiness and purity until the arrival of modernity in the disguise of Kumaran. He despised the uncivilized life of the village folk. The developments he propounded for the welfare of Aathi transformed it into a filthy dumping yard. He ransacked the pristine village for his personal gains. In the other case, Kunjimathu was an innocent village girl who was deeply in love with Kumaran. She could neither comply with his hatred for village life nor his whimsical aspirations of city life. Nevertheless, she hoped that he would recognize the virtue of Aathi in one day. Taking advantage of her blind love he possesses her virginity. Kumaran established mastery over Kunjimathu's body as he did that to Aathi. Both nature and woman become the mute victims of male supremacy. Ecofeminists noted that women and nature were often depicted as chaotic, irrational and in need of control, while men were frequently characterized as rational, ordered, and thus capable of directing the use and development of women and nature. They argue that this arrangement results in a hierarchical structure that grants power to men and allows for the exploitation of women and nature, particularly in so far as the two are associated with one another.

Kumaran's elopement from Aathi and herself shattered the rhythm of her life.' Gradually an awakening dawned on her. At that moment she declared that she never required a companion to rely upon in her life. She had the entire Aathi with its water life and creatures at her disposal. The roots of the grass, the leaves of the plants and trees received and assimilated the agony of her mind. Aathi was the sole witness to the betrayal endured by Kunjimathu. Kunjimathu had decided not to yield to societal norms of marriage and its responsibilities. As was customary of every parent, her father too set aside a portion of his savings for her marriage. Since she was their only child he had a lot of aspirations about his future son-in-law. But when she had announced her decision to live alone her parents became helpless. She was firm in her resolution. Even though Kunjimathu represented an illiterate village dweller her boldness is comparable to that attributed to educated city people. 

Kunjimathu was faithful to her resolution and continued her spinster life along with her companions Devaki and Karthyayani. Though many men proposed to her she was adamant. Life has taught her the lesson that there are deceptions in the love of men. What they craved for was her body and not her heart. Patriarchy has molded women to acknowledge the dominance of men. It is a paradox that men have the license to indulge in all their physical pleasures while women should be chaste and faithful. The norms and convictions of society should be applicable to both. Kunjimathu retained her beauty and physique even in her early fifties. Even though

Kumaran did not marry her she was given the tag of Kumaran's girl. She reclaimed his sold property with her hard-earned savings. She was the only support to Kumaran's parents during their old age. Though she hated him she considered his parents as her own. “To this day, it was Kunjimathu who lit the lamps at the burial mounds. One wick for Thampuran. A second for Kumaran's father. A third for

Kumaran's mother. That was love”. (41)

Kumaran repeated the same question after returning to Aathi after thirty-six years. “What do you hope to gain by staying planted in water three hundred and sixtyfive days of the year? A little rice, fish, oysters. How long will that do for you?” (42). He is an epitome of the modern man who is not content with what he has. He pretended to have a genuine sympathy for the people of Aathi in order to get into their confidence. Kumaran adopted a perfectly planned scheme to appease people of all ages. Children were mesmerized by the charm of the magician employed by him. The visions of modern Aathi with all sorts of luxuries were more than enough to transform them. The bleak reality of swamps and muddy fields made them uneasy. Thus, Kumaran was successful to execute his plans from the grass-root level. Similarly, his contemptuous remarks of the mundane village life and colorful portrayal of city life spread sparks in the minds of young people. The number of supporters for him increased day by day. Though people like Dinakaran, Ponmani, Kunjimathu etc. were against Kumaran, he had money and authority with him. Besides all these he had support of the people of Aathi itself. This was a boost to carry out his plans smoothly.

The first thing that Kumaran did to capture the minds of people was to renovate the temple of Thampuran with coverings of gold. But Kunjimathu understood the motive behind this action. Seeing the heaps of gold loaded in front of it, she made a spiteful comment, “’Why is this dog shit heaped here?’” (106). She recognized that like the charming promises with which Kumaran won her heart in the past, his actions would result in the destruction of Aathi. She exhorted others to prevent this renovation. But majority of the village folk failed to become aware of the impending dangers. They were enthralled by the glitter of gold which they could not even imagine in their lifetime. So, except a few like Ponmani and Dinakaran none of them took heed of her advice. This indicates that women are the first to realize the arriving dangers. Kunjimathu's life is the best example of Kumaran's selfish intentions. Hence, he cannot befool her once more with the promises of developments. But being a woman, her voice was not taken into consideration initially. Society had tried to muffle the protests of women for ages. The massive protestation measures adopted by women for ages have finally resulted in the recognition of their individuality and voice.

Kumaran was successful in executing his plans one by one. A Pundit, clad in white, came from town and advised the people that what they were worshipping was nothing but darkness. He questioned the faith of the people of Aathi which they held with reverence. Disregarding the protests of the villagers, Kumaran demolished the temple of Thampuran one night. People ran towards there wailing and stood dumbstruck. The shrine of Thampuran was the sole thing that united them for years. Being one among them, Kumaran knew clearly that dismantling the shrine would lay the foundation of his further projects. This event had a great impact on Aathi. “Aathi lay paralyzed. No food was cooked in any house. No one went to work. The trees, birds and human beings were petrified into a stony silence” (114). The next morning Dinakaran and Markose saw the women breaking down the remaining walls of Thampuran's shrine with crowbars, pickaxes and spade. While doing this they never looked at each other nor spoke. When Dinakaran inquired the reason to Kunjimathu she replied, “Dinakara, what is the deity here? Isn't it darkness? Then why a shrine to make us fight, kill and die?” (119). She wanted everyone to be together rather than to fight in two groups. She stood against rupturing the kindred spirit amongst them.

Even though Kumaran was born and brought up there, he had a staunch dislike towards Aathi the way it was. He felt that Aathi along with its people was something obsolete and uncivilized. Being a strong supporter of modernity, Kumaran had proposals to develop schools and hospitals which would improve the plight of the people. But the credulous villagers failed to recognize that all these promises were baits to trap them. These profit motives were undertaken at the cost of Aathi. Kunjimathu was one among the people who had a foresight about Kumaran's policies. When things had begun to slip out of control, people realized the stark reality that they were losing their homeland. If the warnings of Kunjimathu and other wise men were given consideration Aathi would not have deteriorated. The age long affinity between women and nature enable women to have deeper knowledge about the

destructions inflicted on nature.

After some days the villagers discovered that Kumaran's men had done the most infernal treachery. They had mixed ‘nanch’ (poison) in Kunjimathu's pokkali paddy fields. She had made a contract with them that until the day of kaapu-kalakku they could cultivate fish on a share basis. But it was a ploy to purloin the last bit of fish from the farm, before the contract expired. Actually, it was not ‘nanch’ but endosulfan. The impact of this poison is hazardous to the existence of all forms of life. Coincidentally, Kunjimathu had a nightmare at the same time when her fields were poisoned. She saw Kumaran in her dreams asking her to sell her five acres of land to him. A sudden glimpse of the seventeen-year-old Kunjimathu is presented.

She was enjoying the fragrance of the paddy fields which was ready for the harvest.

The sweet aroma of her body caressed the water tenderly. Tiny fingerlings darted and danced all around her. The birds that came to peck the grains perched themselves on her shoulders. The sight of Kumaran terrified Kunjimathu, the birds and fingerlings alike. (170)

Just like Kumaran usurped the chastity of Kunjimathu so did he exploit the natural resources of Aathi. Men who revered nature as Mother ultimately turned to be its destroyers. This can be clearly deciphered from the ruthless attitude of Kumaran.

Kunjimathu's dream can be read as the explicit manifestation of her oneness with nature. The whole of Aathi reverberated her voice. Being inseparable with nature she could not withstand the threats inflicted upon it. We also come across another conversation of Kumaran in her dream. He approached Kunjimathu and praised that he could not find any other woman in the world as pretty as her. He examined her body and regretted why he had left this full and succulent dish. He considered her to be so appetizing and aromatic. Though years have passed basic instincts of Kumaran remained intact. But Kunjimathu was not the innocent, thoughtless girl of seventeen. The experiences of life have altered her personality. When Kumaran, who was steaming with lust, stretched his arms towards Kunjimathu, she was at once transformed into a Mahakali. Kali image is the synonym of anger and destruction. She had put on this attire to make him realize her power. Weakness and fragility had left her long since. She pronounced her stand to him without the slightest trace of fear.

“You dare touch my hand Kumara, your hand into pieces I'll chop.” (170)

A major portion of Aathi's land was the property of a Tamilian, Ganesha Subramaniyam. It was leased out to the people of Aathi. Kunjimathu's five acre lay at the end of his land. Her property was adjoined by the government area. In a way it was sandwiched between the properties of Ganesha Subramaniyam and government.

Since Kumaran had begun the construction of bridge in the government area simultaneously with the levelling of Ganesha Subramaniyam's land it became necessary for him to encroach Kunjimathu's property. Moreover, it was his own property redeemed by her. That place held the memories of his parents. She was the lone hurdle in his way.

Kumaran had entrusted Komban Joy, an ally of him, to tactfully sign the contract with Kunjimathu. He approached her with the proposal to cultivate prawns in her field. Initially she dismissed his plans. But Joy went towards her incessantly. He advised her to sell her farm and deposit the money in the bank and lead a comfortable life with the interests rather than to toil her old age in the farm. She admonished him and said that they never cultivated prawns. Tiny fishes spawned among the roots of mangrove trees and reached their fields during high tides. Those little ones grew without any effort from the outside world. Kunjimathu cleverly understood the intention of Komban Joy behind fish cultivation. His mechanized methods using fertilizers and chemicals would eventually destroy her fields. Poverty had already begun to wreak its havoc. She and her companions had to survive. The pressure of circumstances had made her agree the contract with him.

Kumaran had the objective to turn Kunjimathu's field into poisoned and unproductive land. Then it would be easier for him to grab it from her at any price he would offer. “That was the day the yellow butterflies perished in their thousands. On the ridges of the paddy fields, in courtyards, and in front of Thampuran's shrine, they fell and lay like withered laburnum flowers” (177-178). Similar was the fate of fish and other water creatures. Kunjimathu was deceived once again. Moreover, Kumaran made counterfeited documents that her property actually belonged to him. It testified that the man from whom she purchased the land had already sold it to Kumaran's man. All these were more than enough for her to retaliate. She decided to save her dying Aathi from the clutches of Kumaran and his sycophants.

Kunjimathu and her companions were enjoying the beauty of the rising moon. But unlike the previous times no water came stirring to their land. Kumaran had erected concrete bunds to prevent the inflow of water during high tides. Kunjimathu’s conversations with her counterparts reveal that her emotions are akin to that of nature. She imagined sea as a woman. Just as the sea experienced arousal in the moonlight so did a woman experience arousal under the moonrise of man. She considered the sea as a metaphor of her life. Her body retained the same beauty she had in her youth. She had not lost the supple sheen of her body nor did the firm swell of her breasts. Also, her thighs still remained firm and graceful. These features would not deform as long as the moon continued to rise in the far distance, beyond human reach. Every woman is an ocean for whom the moon stays beyond reach forever.

Even after waiting for many hours, Kunjimathu and her companions could not see the on rush of water. Such a thing had never happened in their life time. Kunjimathu had an inner warning that it was a signal of a serious calamity. Until then life had been wound on a key of predictability from high tide to low tide and viceversa. At that moment Kunjimathu received a sudden revelation and she headed straight. She didn't pay attention to her friends' call. They feared that she would fall into a ditch or drown in the sludge. In the past they knew where the pits and ditches lay. Now that was no longer the case. The very face of earth had changed. Kumaran's developments had disrupted the naturality of Aathi.

Kunjimathu passed the filled land, the barren stretch of impoverished land and finally reached the granite embankments. Her legs trembled as she walked through the killing fields of fresh water lakes. She heard a sobbing on arriving at the embankment which stood at the farther extend of Aathi. It was the wail of water unable to find a way forward. The presence of Kunjimathu made the water to swell under the full moon. It rose and fell, crushing its head on the granite wall. This sight paralyzed her. Her body became weak and she sank into the ground. She decided that there was no use in her living anymore. Kunjimathu envisaged the bleak future of Aathi. “Paddy

fields, parched. Trees, dry and withered. The earth, cracked. Wells, dried up”. (196)

Kunjimathu began to immerse herself in the mud water until neck deep. She proclaimed that until her Aathi was restored to its previous glory she would not come out. The efforts of her companions and other villagersto change her mind turned vain.

Simultaneously legal movements were done under the leadership of Dinakaran.

Gradually, Kunjimathu's firm resolution became a source of inspiration for all. Everyone did whatever they could to cleanse Aathi. In the end, the decision of court was favorable to their claim. The people of Aathi immediately demolished the embankments made by Kumaran. Water began to flow freely and Kunjimathu quitted her fast until death. Thus, her tireless efforts and firm declaration paved the way for the reclamation of their lost paradise.

Kunjimathu is the epitome of women's age long relationship with nature. She identifies herself with nature. She even tries to sacrifice her life for the sake of her homeland. She represents the female stage which is the stage of self-discovery and being independent. Life has transformed her to reach such an elevated stage. It is Kunjimathu's identification with nature that enabled her to retaliate against its exploiters. There are numerous instances where women have prevented threats against environment either individually or collectively.

 

 

CHAPTER  FOUR

                           WATER  SYMBOLISM

In Gift in Green, Sarah Joseph explores the water symbols used with plentifully. The novel has at its background the story of water-covenant between the inhabitants of Aathi, a village of pristine beauty and the water. It is testified in the story that, under the earth was buried the clear water body that had sustained Aathi, and its people, for centuries. The signatories of this Magna carta includes the fish, the frogs, the crabs, the oysters, the birds, the butterflies, the reptiles, the grass, the bushes and the mangrove forest. The people of Aathi found the divine presence in the numerous waterbeds with which the village is adorned. Faced with degradation and pollution of this miracle of life, they experience the absence of God and the fury of nature. This divine fury is highlighted in order to conscientise the people of the hazardous consequences of burying the waterbeds in order to build cities. It also explores the therapeutic effects of water in healing psychopathologies. It points out that the self-cleansing nature of water is symbolized as a reflection into the inner cleansing of one’s own soul. The negative energy that emerges out to the cosmos by way of human anger, hate, vengeance, jealousy and greed is portrayed here. Gift in Green stating a great truth that the water-human connectedness exceeds the level of symbolism and that right from the umbilical cord of our existence until our final breath we are sustained by this miracle of life. 

The water that lashes upon can bring about destruction as in the recent drastic and traumatic flood in the metropolitan city of Chennai, and the water that gushes forth can be a sign of a covenant with its creator, the fountain of life and the source of energy as in the Biblical story of Hagar. The story of Hagar well interwoven into Sarah Joseph’s Gift in Green, figures as an icon of the water covenant from the historical past to the present. Sarah describes this historic point as,

Hagar stood transfixed as a spring gushed forth from the earth, like water squirting from the eyes of a pierced coconut. Incredulously she stood and watched the bird drinking water ravenously, dipping again and again into the pool around the spring and juddering its wings in joyful celebration. In a flash, Hagar ran back screaming, scooped up her son, flew to the spring, and immersed him in the water. Trembling, she poured a palm-full into his mouth and immersed him in the pool again and again. The flow of water continued undiminished, the source spouting more and more fresh water. Hagar soaked herself in the stream until in her breast she knew the miracle of water turning into milk. (13-14)

Hagar takes to heart this contract with God, because it is sealed with her own struggles in the wilderness of her life, both literally and metaphorically with her new born son. She declares, “I shall be the caretaker of this water, guard it and mother it for the sake of my child and for the sake of the children yet to be born” (14). In an era of capitalism and environmental degradation in the name of development, can the modern Hagar stand upright guarding the covenantal gift of water, for generations to come is a query of concern and anguish. An entire people of Aathi had been a covenant between them and the water agreement, “You will give us water and

livelihood. We shall work with you and take care of you”. (201)

A series of water metaphors occur throughout the novel. Anupama Raju in her review of the novel in The Hindu newspaper confirms that the over-riding metaphor in the novel is water. The people of Aathi found the divine presence in the numerous waterbeds with which the village is adorned. In the prologue to the story it is stated that, “The glory of God moved over the waters” (1). On the contrary, faced with degradation and pollution of this miracle of life, they realize the absence of God.

Kunjimathu’s world was very small. She believes that “water knows everything and forgets everything”. (21)

In the face of pollution of water by the trash thrown from the hospital, Shailaja, one of the powerful female characters in the novel, realizes that, “God had already withdrawn his fingers, which once moved over the water” (75). Seeing the lake behind the hospital is being filled with garbage from the hospital she was shocked with the realization that “Her belief that the resources for human survival rested in water, for generations to come, was shattered to smithereers” (75). With his high influence, Kumaran began to smoothly develop Aathi. Roads and bridges began to choke the water life. In the episode sixteen, ‘Where Sweet Carts Overturn’, where the magician with the magic wand who stands for the bourgeois of development, tries to attract the children with his magic and sweet carts, asks the children gathered around him whether they need a marsh or a playground. Attracted by the sweets which would otherwise turn down they respond that they need playground though in their heart they believed that,

No human hand was allowed to touch that water, for the goddess of rice and fish dwelt in it. For the delicate water-goddess to survive, the ceiling of the marsh had to remain wet. The water mansion would collapse if the marsh were to go dry. If and when that happened, the goddess would go in search of a wet marsh through the deep, underground water paths: a journey full of hardships. Her anger, more destructive than fire, would rise in proportion to the difficulties she faced. Droughts would devastate the places she abandoned. Human beings would be able, at best, to hop about on the barren, burning earth, unable to stand still even for a moment. Thirst would kill the children; all the fish would have perished. The birds would fly away and the trees, desiccated with thirst, appear to have been scorched by wildfire. The marsh would exhale poisonous gases. People would be left with no choice but to flee. (102-103)

This clearly shows how when the natural existence of water is disturbed it can raise its fury against the intruder. Here water is also given a divine attribute which is an Indian custom, by referring to it as a goddess. This divine fury is highlighted in order to conscientize the people of the hazardous consequences of burying the waterbeds in order to build cities. The storytellers who were led mysteriously to the land of Aathi, yielded to the tradition of immersing themselves in the cool waters before the storytelling ceremony. The introducer would step into the water and would proclaim, “Jalam Saakshi!”, and the people would echo in unison, “Jalam Saakshi!” which means, water is the witness (15). Usually people take promises keeping God as the witness, here the ceremonial act of storytelling evenings which has much connection with the people’s connectedness to the water-life of the village begins pronouncing water as the witness. Another symbolic figure of water is the mysterious girl found standing on the bank of the lagoon, looking intently at the water. It is Noor Muhammad, the first storyteller who has much affinity with water, who observes her. She appears in the course of the story many times, witnessing with a forlorn look the degradation of the waters of Aathi, and at the same time clearing and cleaning the waters like The Solitary Reaper of William Wordsworth. From ‘Thettamparal’ and

‘Meenwari’, she was collecting empty cement bags which the bridge workers had thrown carelessly into the water, all through the night in her small boat. Noor Muhammad referred to each time her identity as of ‘that girl’:

The girl’s boat, heavily loaded, got stuck in Meenwari. Most of the load was empty cement bags that the workers on the bridge had cast carelessly into the water. She worked hard and relentlessly, gathering the bloated bags.  She had planned to leave the place early in the morning, before the bridge workers arrived.  But nomatter how hard she rowed, the boat would not move an inch forward on that sludge; the decaying garbage she had heaped on the cement bags had increased the load greatly.  (146) 

Here the girl and her activities, point to the self-cleansing nature of the water itself. In the story of Buddha, adapted in the novel the self-cleansing nature of water is symbolized as a reflection into the inner cleansing of one’s own soul. Ananda, the disciple of Buddha who was upset with Buddha for sending him a second time and to wait until the lake clears itself confesses to his master, 

Feeling happy at being able to fetch the water, Ananda went back to

Lord Buddha. ‘Please forgive me,’ he begged of the Buddha. ‘I was upset with you for making me walk back and forth twice. I thought you were hard-hearted and I felt angry.  I was not happy to have had to walk that far and that, too, with little hope of succeeding in my mission. But as I sat still, waiting for the water in the stream to clear, I felt my anger and resentment subside down to the bottom of the stream. My mind became clean once again, pure and serene’. (37) 

The mysterious girl mentioned above who comes visible only to Noor

Muhammed at different instances teaches him great lessons on water, which are greatly relevant to life. She explains to Muhammed that the faces and bodies of babies glow because the water that flows through their bodies is pure, for the mind of a sucking baby is pure. Muhammed adds his own reflection while sharing about his interactions with the girl to Markose, “When it begins, life is like pure water, and as we grow up we keep dumping dirt into it: anger, hate, vengeance, jealousy, greed… then how can our faces shine?” (149) 

Aathi had been known for its uniqueness and equality for centuries. Besides, “there was no feeling of possession and selfishness among the people. Safe as in a mother's womb, guarded by the warm sentinel of encircling waters, Aathi had stood secure for ages” (52). But the entry of Kumaran along with his development propaganda had a drastic effect on the genuine nature of Aathi and its people.  Suspicions and hatred began to evolve among them. Accumulation of garbage had destroyed the sanctity of the water life of Aathi. Elderly people lamented over the present condition of their motherland. “In the past, the water here had a sort of radiant clarity.  Now it was continually muddy.  This clouded and burdened every mind in

Aathi with sorrow and anxiety”. (134) 

In Chakkam Kandam, Shailaja discovered the unnerving secret of water in

Chandramohan’s house on the very first day of her marriage life. She was shocked to see the pathetic state of her husband place. “’Ayyooh!’ Shailaja let out a scream, unawares” (80). For four days, she had not brushed her teeth, nor bathed, nor sipped a drop of water, nor stepped down from the cot. Even she didn’t allow her feet to touch the floor. And she didn’t eat a morsel until the fourth day of marriage life. 

Chandramohan’s mother tried to console her, but all ended in vain.  

When the bride-who had not brushed her teeth, nor bathed, nor sipped a drop of water, nor stepped down from the cot or allowed her feet to touch the floor, nor eaten a morsel of food for four days - collapsed,

Chandramohan’s mother told him, ‘Take her back to her home,

Chandra.’(81)

Shailaja decided to return to her native place Aathi. And she invited her husband to live in Aathi. He replied that, “And the rest of my people?” (84). His words  touched  Shailaja’s  heart.  But she didn’t change her mind. On the fifth day of their wedding life, Chandramohan brought his wife Shailaja still a virgin, back to her house in Aathi.  Before he leaves from Aathi, she says that “‘Please… don’t mind.  I shall return when the waters of Chakkam Kandam clear” (85). It is commented in the

story that, 

It amused Chandramohan. For Shailaja to return, the water of Chakkam Kandam had to clear. For that to happen, nothing less than a flood would do. Because we pollute the earth not with our hands alone but also with our hearts, nothing less than the cosmic flood would suffice: a flood mighty enough to sweep away the garbage of covetousness, corruption, treachery and oppression from deep within. (229)

New American Standard Bible aptly says, “There is nothing outside the person which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which come out of the person are what defile the person” (Mark 7.15). In another instance, a small girl is presented, who in her mental turbulence was able to scream only “poh…  poh…” (55) which in the source language means ‘go away’. Her name is Kayal, which means ‘backwater’. Here the name of a body of water is given to the character in the story to denote the connectedness between water and her state of being. Her mother, Gitanjali confirms that she has come to Aathi seeking remedy for her daughter’s ailments. Here, in the case of this girl water functions as a remedy for her psychological depression. She was advised to know the water and stay close to the water for her improvement. She explains to Markose,

‘We’ve come to this place seeking a remedy for what ails her.’ ‘Here!  Markose was visibly astonished. ‘Here, really?’ ‘Water’, the woman said, interrupting Markose. ‘Water is your only hope, my guru advised me.  Stay close to the water for a few days. Let her see the water, hear the sound of water, play with water. She is sure to improve.’ (57) 

Markose who accommodates Gitanjali and her little daughter was touched by

Gitanjali’s expression,

Let Kayal know the water. Dinakaran used to say, ‘We need to understand the water, Markose. Not “know” in the usual sense of the term. We must know the water as the lotus knows it rooted in the sludge below, growing its stem in the water, unfurling its leaves on the surface of the water, and offering its wet and watery face to the sun’.

(61) 

The kind of knowledge and understanding of which Dinakaran and Gitanjali speak of water is beyond the comprehension of humans and the man-made machines, which Kumaran, the villainous son of Aathi employs to build the bridge in Aathi. For,

“what would the earth movers know of the river bed’s inscrutable mysteries?”(143)

There is an in-depth meaning in what water said to Shailaja who sat squatting without touching its black glueyness filled with stench which flooded and reached her kitchen door, “Who is it; tell me that continually abides with you, washing and keeping you clean inside and outside? Ask your own heart. Ask your veins and arteries. Ask your lungs . . . ask your womb!” (208). This quote reveals to a certain extent the mystery of water, which flows through the veins and arteries of the human body and of every living and non-living thing, its miraculous involvement in the physical and emotional functions and of the inner recesses of a human mind and soul. As the story concludes, its veteran hero Dinakaran, who has a heart to heart bond with every character and events in the story was found floating on the water, a bloody murder committed probably by the intruders of Aathi, headed by Kumaran. Sarah Joseph narrates the scene as, “In the lap of his mother, he lay. The mother’s lap: from time immemorial, the final resting place for the burden of every sacrifice and the refuge of every innocent person broken and bruised by the depravity of man”. (347)

Gift in Green is full of symbolism of water. Using the motif of water throughout the novel, the author wants to highlight the great realities of life. The water which is the essence of our very being and of the whole cosmos should be considered precious in modern man’s mad pursuit for material progress. Aathi, in this novel, is such a lagoon. It lies, cool and serene, in the womb of an inviolate purity.  And Hagar who, in the novel, insists on a water covenant and stands metaphoric vigil, a flaming sword in hand, against anyone or anything that comprises the purity and inviolability of water. Aathi which was once known for its crystal-clear water was now filled with sewage and pathogens. In the end, water raised as a flood to purify itself. As we traverse in depth into novel the realization dawn to us that, the waterhuman connectedness exceeds the level of symbolism and it is a naked truth that right from the umbilical cord of our existence until our final breath we are sustained by this miracle of water, the spring of life. And this realization should lead us to safeguard and preserve nature and its resources for the future generation.

 

 

CHAPTER  FIVE

SUMMATION

Sarah Joseph is an eminent writer in Malayalam literature. She had worked as a Malayalam professor at Pattambi Sanskrit College. She is the founder of ‘Manushi’, an organization of thinking of women. She became a member of Aam Aadmi Party

(AAP) in 2014 and contested as its candidate from Thrissur constituency in 2014 Lok

Sabha elections. At present, she is the state convenor and national council member of AAP. She emanates more light and heat as she climbs up the literary horizon, and as a result for fiction draws serious critical appraisal. Her awards have alerted serious rethinking on women’s writing and subaltern literature in the literary circles of Kerala. Her literary career began very early. The fictional world of Sarah Joseph is a panorama where she portrays woman in her discriminative and self-conscious phases. She was the harbinger of feminist movement in Kerala. Her engagement with women’s issues continues even now. The politics of her writings is the specificity of women’s writing. Her stories offer a blue print of individual woman’s specific reactions to the power relations operative in society. In Malayalam, she has articulated her anxieties over such depoliticizing in the name of an aesthetics that has universal validity. She shows how epics can be used to construct a link between events in the past and how we view them today. No doubt she is the precious daughter of Malayalam. 

An eco-spiritual search for light and life in a world inching towards dystopia Gift in Green, written originally in Malayalam, is a tantalizingly unconventional narrative that explores, on multiple levels, the pain and poetry that eventuate from the disruption of the intimate relationship between a people and their life-world, using water (the ‘water-life’ of the people of Aathi) as the overarching metaphor that mirrors the degradation of the society. Between the polarities of attachment and abandonment, darkness and light, predatory progress and the sheer will to survive, unfolds the saga of a people confronted by the behemoth of progress driven by Kumaran, who seeks to abandon water-life, threatening its very existence. But such is the author’s faith in the resilience of life and nature and her belief in the futility of trying to control something as fluid and eternal as water-life that what promises to be the end is also the hope of a new beginning. This is the first instance in Indian literary history of a novel in a regional language being translated and published concurrently in English.

The novel clearly pictures the incorrigible aftermath that can germinate from the oppression of nature and disseminate to the future like a terminal disease, which can change the whole development and technology created by man into a quest or interrogation. The novel admits strongly that only through changing our day-to-day relationship and activities towards more harmony and sustainability, one can give to the well-being and empowerment of the whole ecosystem. Green bangle, the mangrove forest in Aathi, plays a powerful symbol that depicts the exploitation of ecosystem. There is a presence of total greenery throughout the novel combining the importance of water. The plot gives the degradation of ecology and ends with the phoenix-like regeneration of Aathi. There is a flashlight view of events.  

The plot is deliberately interrupted by the ceremony of storytelling nights, begins with some exclusive rituals, and narrates the diverse stories such as the story of civilization in Aathi, destiny of the people of Aathi and so on. It consists of many stories taken from the sources such as The Bible, The Holy Quran, Zen and Sufi traditions, the Puranas, folk narratives and historical events, which is informed storyteller in the storytelling nights. Here the author insisted on the importance of culture. She put forth that one should adhere to their culture in their day-to-day life to become a better person.

The author depicts the land of Aathi on an island Valanthakkadu in Ernakulam district of Kerala. Here she throws light on the co-existence of human culture with nature. She portrays the simple lives of people who subsided in fishing, picking mussels and farming Pokkali rice. They earned as much as Rs.300 a day by picking mussels but never fished more than that. The land of Aathi is pristine covered with water on all sides. The people lived water-life that is their daily immediate needs are fulfilled from earth and water as they could collect enough food to feed the whole family just by working till noon every day. In Aathi people from ancient times lived the water-life, harvesting only what they need from nature. They spend seven nights listening to stories ritualistically related to the mysterious tellers and every session ends with a query like how are we to apply the essence of this story to our lives? By narrating the unique practices and eco-friendly culture of Aathi such as the storytelling nights, selling and buying land strictly to the inmates of the place, not allowing greedy developers in the land, preservation and sustainable use of natural resources, the author insisted on the priority of preserving nature. They live a life without making any disruption to the surrounding forest area. Also, they never wanted to come out of it as the sources are abundant in their region. 

The pioneers of Aathi have chiseled the land and their perspectives throughout the generations. The people with ugly greediness are not allowed inside their region.

Even they believed in selling and buying lands among their own community people. This is because they believed that only the people of Aathi can understand the precious value of the water and land. The greedy people are not allowed inside as they might use the land to earn lot of money by destroying it. The regional topography highly affects their pattern of society, way of living and perspectives. The community in Aathi has the indigenous knowledge to live in that space in a harmonious way. They have a connection with nature and non-human entities. The forefathers of the community have formulated their culture to live in a sustainable way. Even the geographical area was just a forest once. But they created a way to cultivate pokkali rice. This helps the upcoming generations to live a sustainable life without relying on outside resources. The culture is formulated in such a way that they don’t have to depend on the outside sources. This indigenous knowledge and the sense of belongingness are transferred to the future generations through stories, rituals and myths.

The female characters are stronger and more memorable. Kunjumathu, betrayed by Kumaran, pursues the water-life and took care of the parents of Kumaran. The adversity never made her to succumb before anything she stood for the wellbeing of nature. Gitanjali comes to Aathi seeking a cure for her daughter Kayal’s mental turbulence. Through this, the author throws light on the healing power of nature. Shailaja leaves her bridegroom and his polluted village to remain attached to the purity of Aathi. Here the sense of belongingness with Aathi is highlighted. She was even ready to give up her marriage life for her land. The environmental

destruction leads the village of Shailaja, that is Aathi, to get more polluted than that of her husband’s village. It creates a negative impact on both living and non-living

system.

The plot moves, not like a train along tracks laid straight, stopping only at designated stations, but more like a bus that changes its direction ever so often, stops and resumes at will, and completes the journey with an unwavering eye on the destination. The twists and turns of Sarah’s plot-ride through the landscape of Aathi make eminent sense from a holistic perspective. The novel Gift in Green can be regarded as an allegorical tale issued like a warning against the cruelties of man towards nature. Sarah Joseph is successful as a social activist in raising her voice against rising environmental issues. She is to be praised for her success as an artist in her art of telling a story to stimulate and inspire action through her poetic language. The metaphorical language that she uses to paint the picture of the idyllic Aathi, the introduction of a few characters who are the lovers of nature and their life in premodern Aathi contribute to the fictional elements of the novel. Aathi and life in Aathi after modernization reflect contemporary world.

Gift in Green is not completely an invented story. It reminds the readers of man's brutality towards nature in the name of progress. Sarah Joseph is narrating a few episodes in the life of the people of Aathi, including the tragic fate of Kunjimathu, Shailaja and Kayal. The writer does not forget to shock the readers by unveiling the monstrosity of contemporary reality. This novel is essentially a meeting point of fact and fiction. It  never sheds its literariness anywhere. From the beginning, the writer beautifully narrated the story of Aathi desham with slices of reality drawn from her society, in a poetic language. The images and metaphors add to her brilliant style. ‘The Prologue’ itself illustrates her power of expression:

Darkness sat brooding over the abyss. 

The earth was formless and void, Not a soul or fowl was upon it.

Then, one day, the boats set forth. 

Many boarded, flaming torches in hand.

The glory of God moved over the waters. (1)

          The narration is as musical as a lyrical composition. The novel is not a mere documentary of facts. Reality hides between the lines like a beautiful poem with an underlying message. The novel has didactic purposes: to invite us to the fictitious, yet idyllic world of Aathi and to act against environmental degradation. Gift in Green puts forth an ecological perspective of wailing life conditions that are beyond modernist interpretations. The protagonist of the novel is water that carries the secret of life. The novel depicts in a moving fashion how modernism and industrialization pollute natural resources; thereby how man loses his or her very existence. The novel gives the impression of watching a film where Aathi, a small village, becomes the stage of multiple riddles.

          Sarah Joseph sums up the novel by putting forward a vivid picture of colonization in the guise of ‘development’, how these affect our surroundings and ourselves, and what precautions we have to take for saving ourselves. It depicts the contrast between the human’s desire for material progress and the picturesque background of a village in the south Indian state Kerala. The novel deliberately avoids the overtones of nostalgia and even that of despair to considerable extent which are, to a larger degree, hallmark features of narratives of this genre. The novel falls in the domain of women's writings and feminist articulations that have overwhelmingly been spreading to wider areas, especially including the environmental concerns, over the past several decades. Through the forty-six chapters, Sarah Joseph is able to enliven the thought of the readers, and to evoke in them the necessity of conserving the originality of villages. Kumaran, who leaves his indigenous job and moves to city, loses the holiness of the village under the illusion that modernism and industrialization are meant for ‘development’. Also, it awards Aathi with a population who receive diseases out of its failure to take care of nature adequately. The sight of Aathi, whose situation changes from a haven to a diseased centre, is central to the novel.

          This project titled, ‘Coexistence of Nature and Tradition' in Sarah Joseph’s Gift in Green’ has five chapters. The first chapter of this project entitled ‘Introduction’ discusses about how Indian English writing has started to shine like fiction, drama and poetry in the field of Indian English literature. It also discusses about the prominent and contemporary writers in the Indian English fiction. It further focuses about Sarah Joseph who has emerged as a novelist in the last decade of the twentieth century in Malayalam literature. Also, it concentrates on the achievements of her works and her contributions to the literature. It brings out the importance of her other works as well as Gift in Green in the contemporary context. 

          The second chapter, ‘Ecofeminism’ deals with the respectable and suppressed stuffs in the world that are woman and environment. It describes movements and philosophies that link feminism and ecology. It analyses the novel Gift in Green which delineates the impact of both cultural feminism and radical feminism. This novel becomes a canvas on which the author paints the giant agony of a people, the result of the horrendous consequences of man’s cruelty to nature. Here is feminist sensitivity at its nuanced best, and it takes the narrative closer to the porous bourns of the polemical. And Joseph’s creative genius counterbalances the polemical with the poetic.

          The third chapter titled ‘Subjugation of Women and Nature’ deals with the suppression of women and nature and the rejuvenation of the contaminated motherland through the painstaking hard work of the womenfolk, portrayed by Sarah Joseph in Gift in Green. It has showcased the affinity between nature and women which had existed from the beginning but which has been suppressed by societal constraints. The village of Aathi and Kunjimathu were the innocent victims of Kumaran's voraciousness. Kunjimathu's positive efforts in reclaiming Aathi have resulted in a new journey with a revival of ‘new sprouts’. 

          The fourth chapter entitled ‘Water Symbolism’ explores the symbols of water. The novel Gift in Green has at its background the story of water-covenant between the inhabitants of Aathi, a village of pristine beauty and the water. This divine fury is highlighted in order to conscientize the people of the hazardous consequences of burying the waterbeds in order to build cities. It also explores the therapeutic effects of water in healing psychopathologies. Also, it stating a great truth that the waterhuman connectedness exceeds the level of symbolism and that right from the umbilical cord of our existence until our final breath we are sustained by this miracle of life.

          The final chapter entitled ‘Summation’ attempts to sum up the matters of the whole project, which have been discussed in the previous four chapters, in a very brief manner. A fresh perspective of ancient tales in the premises of contemporaneity can be found in this novel. It is an apt example for a novel that enables ecological reading and consciousness. Thus, the novel Gift in Green holds, forever, a unique position in the history of the novel in Malayalam literature.

 

 

 

 

WORKS CITED:

PRIMARY SOURCE:

Joseph, Sarah. Gift in Green. Trans. Valson Thampu. New Delhi: Harper Collins

Publishers, 2011.

SECONDARY SOURCES:

Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory:  An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. 

  UK: Manchester University Press, 2009. 

Birkeland, J. Ecofeminism: Linking Theory and Practice. Ed. Gaard, Philadelphia: G.Temple University Press, 1993. 

Habra, La. New American Standard Bible.  CA:  Foundation Publications, (Lockman

Foundation), 1971.   

Ravindran R.  “An Ecocritical Approach on the Selected Plays of Wole Soyinka”.

Literary Endeavour, Vol IX.  Issue No.3, July 2018.  

Ravindran R. “Discarded Nativity in J.M. Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians”. 

Literary Endeavour, Vol VIII.  Issue No.2, Jan., 2017. 

Shiva, Vandana. Staying Alive:  Women, Ecology and Development.  New Delhi: Kali for Women, 1989.