A paradise infested with poison

Amarinder Gill

Translated into English from Malayalam, it is the saga of a long struggle by the people of Kasaragod district in Kerala against the use of aerial spraying of endosulfan. This pesticide was extensively used in cashew plantations to weed out the non-existent tea mosquito. The writer tells the story through its protagonists Neelkantan and Devayani.

They have renounced the inhuman urban world and retreated to the jungles of Northern Kerala to lead a monk-like existence. As they shed their urban personas, they also give up their individual identities and are just known as Man and Woman, a clear reference to Adam and Eve. Living in the forest, the couple shuns human contact and lives on the produce of the forest. The Man weaves baskets and the Woman sells these to buy parboiled rice.

When the Woman brings home a child with greying hair and a body covered with sores that never heal, it is a wakeup call for the two hermits to acknowledge the harsh reality that surrounds them. They are forced to confront their escapist thinking that they are living in a paradise; while in reality it is a living hell.

Snakes and caves are two continuously occurring motifs in the novel. It also draws parallels between its characters and those of mythology. There are recurring references to the Mahabharta, Indra and his vajra and Mahabali. The couple names the child Pareekshit, after the son of Mahabharta’s Abhimanyu. The mythological Pareekshit was killed while still in his mother’s womb and given a new lease of life by Krishna. The adopted child brings the two protagonists back to mainstream society.

The reader realises that this slow death is a way of life in the region. The pesticide’s poison has spread in the soil, air and water. Cancer, deformed children and cattle, unexplained abortions and mental disorders are a matter of everyday life. Though the locals are able to mobilise and organise themselves and protest against the issue, they are faced with political apathy. Inquiry commissions submit false reports, while gigantic private companies keep making profits. Those who do raise their voice have to deal with the violence and threats issued by the minister concerned and his henchmen. The slow genocide adds to the grimness of this eye-opening narrative. The lush greenery of northern Kerala is just a façade for the truth that it hides. Calling the land swarga seems a mockery. No bees, birds and animals are to be found in the region. Even the hardy crow makes a rare appearance in this poison-infested world. The characters of Swarga are not larger than life but your every-day people and the novel rings with truth. The book is a reminder of the hazards of environmental degradation. It highlights the slow killing of mortals and nature alike.

This novel is about a daunting quest of a community and its struggles to survive and fight an entire system bent on using a pesticide banned in the West. The strong message that the writer wants to convey is not lost in translation.