Between death and desperation

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Between death and desperation

Sunday, 26 August 2018 | Kalyanee Rajan

Between death and desperation

Jangam

Author : Debendranath Acharya, Amit R Baishya

Publisher : Vitasta, Rs 399

Translated from Debendranath Acharya’s Assamese novel, this book uses the microcosm of Burma, which was  invaded by Japan in World War II, to remind humankind of what war can reduce the world to, writes KAlYANEE RAJAN

Whither would desperation drive a person who faces imminent death, sooner if he stays, and later if he fleesij Is it an act of bravery to leave one’s land of birth and toil to seek refuge in one’s never-been-to homeland, however far, even when the road is undeniably packed with perils untold and least imaginedij What if the choice was never yours to make, but all you could do was to follow the lead, to move, and to keep moving till misfortune finally overtook youij What would you call your own when you are pitilessly forced out by the very people whom you considered your own brethren, forced to leave every material possession behind in an attempt to survive, and only just; when your family, friends and fellow travellers succumb to death, falling one by one, losing the race to survivalij

Debendranath Acharya’s (1937-1981) 1984 Sahitya Akademi award winning Assamese novel Jangam is set in the backdrop of the events around World War II. It zooms into the Japanese invasion of Burma which led to over five lakh Burmese Indians marching, facing all odds, towards Assam to preserve their lives and save their future.

Jangam is a moving saga of a group of poor peasants of Indian origin who are left with no choice but to abandon their houses and property and save their lives in the face of fierce ethnic clashes that break out when several Burmese will-stop-at-nothing rebels join hands with the Japanese to rout the British and cleanse the Burmese soil of every other foreign settlement. Several second generation Indians, who could claim to be as much Burmese as the natives, fight nature’s raw fury and the inhuman bloodlust of the rebels and the invaders at each step of their hopeless journey towards safety through treacherous terrains and sudden hostile attacks. Acharya skillfully contrasts the tumult and violence of the present lives of the refugees with the glorious and serene Burmese history illuminated by Buddhism and peaceful co-existence of various kingdoms. In his preface, Acharya expresses despair at the absence of a sustained literary account of the “massive calamity that faced humankind”, that is, the exodus from Burma to India in the wake of World War II. He proposes the novel as the story of “A group of extremely ordinary people who were dislocated… they are universal symbols for suffering humanity… people who embarked on a great, unknown journey with the fervent desire for survival…but whose goals were thwarted as they succumbed, with their wishes unfulfilled, to the cold embrace of death”. The translator Amit R Baishya notes in his pithy introduction that though Acharya’s preface lifts the tale to the level of the universal (not unreasonably so), it is the topical and the local with its “postnationalist” historical overtones which demand equal if not more attention in terms of positing what Baishya calls, “The ‘universal-human’ family, one that transcends national/regional peculiarities in a generalised picture of the ‘human condition’…”

The opening to Jangam, titled ‘Background’, reads like a serenading poetic offering by Acharya where he describes the fictional town of Manku, the beauty of the mighty Irrawaddy river and the hamlets around it. Acharya conjures up haunting images: “Sitting in that terrifying cremation ground, history wiped away its tears after getting lost in recollections of its past. Hundreds of neglected marble-heaps of statues of the Tathagatha in these broken, weeping pagodas meditate… counting the eras swept away by the merciless currents of time.” These epic beginnings of a fallen state, the lament of its past glory, and the ill omens of what the future holds for its people grip the imagination of the reader instantly. Ramgobinda’s life and family form a major thread of Jangam’s narrative fabric. His pregnant wife lacchmi, his seven-year-old son Thanu and his mysterious kitten Mini, and his aged, staunch Hindu mother — all find space in it. Burmese village elders like the prophetic Gusenpung, Ba-Mao and Jayanao watch helplessly as the news of escalating tensions and growing rebellion of the Kempeitais reaches them from various quarters. Jayanao’s youngest son, Nungnao, too, left his job in Mandalay and joined the rebels. However, it is Nungnao, who becomes a willing saviour of the poor Indian peasants, recognising that the actual enemies of the natives, the wealthy Chettiars from Tamil Nadu, who had monopolised the market in Burma had fled long back, with every possession possible, through land and air routes. Nungnao, having been educated in a school, instead of the usual Buddhist initiation and practice, represents the new generation caught inevitably in the whirlwind of change. Though he is made to pay with his life by the very people of his rebel group, Nungnao manages to guarantee safe passage to the desperate group of people led by Nitu, also the relatively rich Ballabh, Chinti, Gurcharan, Ramgobinda’s family among others. They are joined by a British Pastor, Father Berry and three more travelling with him, and later a beautiful and compassionate Anglo-Burmese girl Ma-Pu (Mary). Death and exhaustion claim their victims one by one; while the group trudges on like machines, with help from a few remaining British military officers and some neutral natives.

Acharya’s narrative flows subtly, peppered with unsentimental descriptions of death, devastation and nature in all its forms, bountiful as well as ruthless. In 23 chapters, he weaves a captivating tale of human endeavour, hoping against hope, and the raging instinct for survival which keeps the group moving night and day, in the rains and in the sun, amidst greenery and corpses covered with vibrant, many hued butterflies. The tale ends with hope, with the seeds of new, unlikely alliances forged in the course of this daunting migration, with a new world “unsullied by the steps of displaced people”. The translator’s introduction is an enriching piece, addressing several pertinent questions relating to nation, identity, life, and a succinct analysis of Acharya’s life, times and method. Baishya has contributed greatly to the cause by bringing forth a forgotten tale in English translation, for wider readership and analysis. While Baishya deftly keeps the flavour of Assamese alive by retaining words like pithaguri, murha, hooluk bandor, one is left wishing for a better translation to emerge, as on many occasions the flow of the language is disrupted by the use of words that do not do justice to the overall register: “The autochthonous population”, “hirsute boy”, “highfalutin chatter”, “smidgeon of hope” and so on; apart from some instances of what seems to be literal translation from the original Assamese which leads to repetitive statements. That being said, Jangam remains a monumental addition to the lesser-known tales of migration and exodus, and this translation would certainly spur fresh research and corroboration to construct a more wholesome picture of such calamitous moments in the history of mankind. The publisher Vitasta deserves accolades for bringing forth such an unusual book, amply enriched with a stark cover image, the rare maps in the appendix and the glossary. The novel should attract wide readership for a well-told poignant tale of survival against all odds.

The reviewer teaches English literature at Delhi University

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