CHAPTER-V

TRANSLATING THE HUMAN SPIRIT

(ATHADU ADIVINIJAYINCHADU

HE CONQUERED THE JUNGLE)

The magnitude of Telugu fiction may not be known all that well

outside Andhra Pradesh but Telugu Literature do have a large number of

novels and short stories which are truly world class. There surely are

many Tolstoys and Tagores among the Telugu writers waiting to be

introduced to fame. The translation is playing a major role in bringing

them into spotlight and draws the world’s attention to them. The great

work of translation is believed to be the result of an honor to the

translator. In the hallmark of Telugu novel, contemporariness becomes

evident to the non - Telugu readers through this novella in translation.

The human failures and their idiosyncrasies retain the poignancy that

marks the original and the translation work points out bilingualism and

bi-culturalism that makes this translation creative and challenging. A

translator has a tough job on hand that of weighing how much of an

exposure that the reader should get to the ethos of the people being

written about.

The primary manifestations of Indian strong tradition of democratic

literature are found in our tribal and oral literatures. The post-modernists

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are profoundly rooted in the history of Indians and micro struggles

centered round issues of right to cultural difference, caste power, gender

power and ecology etc. Telugu novelists have by and large focused on

situations- social as well as psychological - presenting, analyzing and

contemplating them, narrating the society as it was, most often in the

realistic pattern. The novella has been written with such a care

dramatizing the terrifying power of fate and man’s total surrender to it

with great intensity. The translation work is hailed as a breakthrough

when it appeared in English since it tried the use of folk and dialectical

elements. The portrayal of the plight of the dalit protagonist with his

mythologization of way of writing attempted a reinterpretation of history

in the light of the new social awareness. Kesava Reddy is the foremost

stimulant in articulating the frustrations of the downtrodden. The novella

when it dealt with domestic tensions of the old man has produced

manifold layers of meanings and messages that together outline a bitter

commentary on man’s futile attempts to challenge destiny spearheaded

the target audience with awe. The work in regional language and English

has become an immediate success with its ritualistic depiction of tribal

life. The work has exhibited the uninhibited analysis of human mind in its

starkness and cruelty and contributed immensely to contemporary field of

translation. Indian novels are best read from the multiple perspectives of

translation, comparative literature and critical theory. Translation and

specifically translation into English ensures the text's existence as a Pan-

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Indian, though not a unified, object. At the heart of the rehabilitating

exercise is the recovery of Kesava Reddy’s amazing work through a

cross-cultural and collaborative translation project. The English

translation has given the text's critique is also indispensable. The English-

speaking world ought to know the depth and dimension of the Telugu

fiction of Andhra Pradesh in the present century. Conversely, all of us can

learn from the unusually rich critique of social power in all its forms that

Kesava Reddy’s novel articulates.

Kesava Reddy is bom in a middle class farmer’s family

‘Talupulapalli’ in the taluq of ‘Puthalapattu’ on 10th March 1947.

Rangareddy and Annamma were his parents. His father Rangareddy had

basic education. He used to read The Ramavana. The Mahabharatha and

The Bhagavadgita. He used to train his sons in the farming activities too

apart from their education. His eldest son, Bhaskarareddy did his B.A and

Kesava Reddy completed MBBS owing to their father’s deep interest in

their studies. Kesava Reddy was the fourth of the five children. Penumuru

is his Surname. He studied till 5 th class in Talupulapalli itself from 1952-

59. His high school education was done in Puthalapattu from 1959-65. He

used to attend the classes covering ten kilometers of distance to and fro

every day. Kesava Reddy went to the reading room every day and read

the Telugu short stories serialized in the popular weekly, monthly

magazines like Bharathi, Andhra Patrika and Andhra Prabha. In those

days it was not easy for a school goer to read the magazines. Either the

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teachers or the elders were under the impression that youngsters would be

spoiled by reading popular magazines and hence they were not allowed.

Kesava Reddy used to pester Chenehyya, the attender, to give one or two

magazines in the late evening after the closing of the school which would

be returned in the late early morning hours of the next day. Loaded with a

school bag and the lunch box, Kesava Reddy, then would start walking on

the edge of the NH road towards home and reading the stories. The

reading would continue the next day morning while walking on the edge

of the NH road towards the school. He would hide the magazines after

returning home lest his father would scold him. He would study his class

books under the kerosene lamp in the night. It’s how Kesava Reddy has

developed literary flavour. Kesava Reddy’s maternal grand parents stayed

in Ramanayyagari Palli in Chittore district. Madhurantakam Rajaram, a

popular Telugu writer by that time, hailed from the same village. There

was no direct acquaintance with him. But Kesava Reddy was influenced

by the simplicity and popularity of this writer. While doing his PUC in Sri

Venkateswara Arts and Science College, Kesava Reddy is influenced by

the writings of Madhurantakam Rajaram and Kodavatiganti kutumbarao.

Kesava Reddy wrote four or five short stories and they were published.

However, he did not remember the details of these stories. After PUC he

got admission into MBBS in 1966 at Medical College of Pondicherry. His

career in Medicine and Literature was, thus, seeded in Pondicherry. After

the completion of medicine course Kesava Reddy became a research

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assistant in an ICMR .two years project. Kesava Reddy has got his

appointment in 1977 in Victoria Hospital in Dichpalle in Nizamabad

district. Then he has done his M.D. Diploma Course from 1991-1993 at

CMC of Vellore under study leave. In 1977 he married Dhiramathi, a

nurse in public health wing in the same hospital. She was a Christian and

their interreligious and intercaste marriage posed some problems with the

elders but everything had become normal later. The couple has

understood the philosophy of The Gita and The Bible as well.

Kesava Reddy has started writing at the age of eighteen while

studying PUC. He has written two big stories, two mini stories and five

novels in all and portrayed the complete realistic picture of the

downtrodden of Rayalaseema with dexterity. Kesava Reddy has initially

penned two big stories - Bhagavanuvacha (1971) and The Road (1974).

Later, he has written two mini stories Pulse of Road (1974) and Party

(1980). Kesava Reddy has written so far five novels- Incredible Goddess

(1976), Smesanam Dunneru (1979), Athadu Adivini Jayinchadu (1983);

City Beautiful (1984); Ramudunnadu; Rah Vundaadi (1984). Four out of

five novels got literary awards remarkably. The first novel Incredible

Goddess received the award of ‘Nutalapati Gangadharam Sahithi

Kutumba Society’ in 1980. His second novel Smesanam Dunneru stood

second in the novel competitions by Visalandra Publishing House in

1979. The third novel City Beautiful is selected as the best Serial Novel

and received Pathivada Sudhakar Smaraka Award in 1985. In 1987

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Telugu University awarded the Best Novel Award to Athadu Adivini

Jayinchadu.

After the Second World War there were writers from the region of

Rayalaseema in Telugu literature. The scope of the writings has never

gone beyond the familiar themes of the middle class. It is Kesava Reddy

alone who has made a real portrayal of the downtrodden in Rayalaseema.

The theme of these five novels in chronological order would facilitate the

reader to understand the philosophy of his writings. In Incredible Goddess

Peda Reddy is a crownless king to the village of Gangapatnam. There is a

hamlet of untouchables in the outskirts who belong to ‘Pokanati Sect’

except Ramaehandrudu who belongs to ‘Rampala.’ All of the

untouchables are the staunch followers of Peda Reddy. In a murder case

except Ramaehandrudu every other harijan witnessed the case in favour

of Peda Reddy. Peda Reddy has won the case and has a grudge over

Ramaehandrudu. Ramaehandrudu has to undergo a period of crisis.

Ramaehandrudu lost his land and house in the process of Peda Reddy’s

revenge. The whole harijan community demolished his house without

even realizing the injustice done to their co- harijan member. Adjusting

his luggage, followed by his wife, children and twenty pigs

Ramaehandrudu started for a new settlement somewhere in the country.

Ramachandrudu’s heart was broken and he was desperate. He was

consoled by his wife, Naga. Ramachandrudu’s first stay was at ‘Ontillu

Agraharam’ where he had observed similar discriminated ignorant

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atmosphere and failed to gain the support of his own people.

Ramachandrudu lost his pigs and his son, Kishtudu, in this process. The

harijans blamed Ramachandrudu and supported the Munsab. However,

Ramachandrudu left this village. A cart man left him near another village

where he was given shelter by Arjuna Reddy, a youngster with modem

outlook. The harijans of the village made rounds (pradakshanas) around a

temple from the outside. The news of Ramachandrudu’s stay in the hut

perturbed them as their pradakshanas included the hut. They all doubted a

curse. The spread of Cholera confirmed their doubt. In the night they

burnt the house. As Arjuna Reddy had bums allover his body he asked

Ramachandrudu to bring the castor oil from the main temple.

Ramachandrudu hesitated. Arjuna Reddy tried to speak but no sound was

produced. He signed Ramachandrudu to stand before him. Arjuna Reddy,

then, gathered all his strength and split on Ramachandrudu’s face. The

story ends here showing intolerance against the existing subordinate

tendency among the dalits.

Smesanam Dunneru is the second novel of Kesava Reddy.

Pedareddy who was a landowner possessing hundreds of acres, desired to

club the harijan’s five acres of burial ground to his lands. He ordered

them to dig the burial ground. Venkatadri was supervising. The harijans

prepared to dig it. It was Veerabhadram who worried about the cemetery

of their forefathers. It was he who asked the amount of daily wage.

Venkatadri shouted at him and they started cleaning the place. As they

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were digging the place they found a treasure pot consisting of ninety two

gold coins. They decided to handover the pot to the land owner.

Veerabhadram objected to it and proposed to distribute the coins among

them. The distribution was complicated as all of them would have three

coins but for one. They asked Veerabhadram to satisfy with two coins

only. He started fighting with them. They hit him to the blue and the

whole news reached the owner. The coins were locked with him but the

harijans were furious with Veerabhadram. They locked his house.

Veerabhadram tried to complaint and met Vedavyasa on his journey to

the city. However, he lost his case as none of his people was ready to be a

witness. The Pokanati harijans raided him, cut the nerves above the ankles

and raped his daughter and wife. Veerabhadram crawled into his house

later only to understand what was happened there. He killed himself with

a spear unable to bear the insult. Vedavyasa who had come just then made

a vow to him. In the night the whole hamlet of harijans was burnt to

ashes. None could trace the criminal. Vedavyasa revealed the whole

incident to the police. Pedareddy would also become one among the

culprits as Venkatadri handed over the pot to him. Pedareddy did not

agree but managed the case. Thirty harijans, Vedavyasa and Venkatadri

were jailed for ten years. Pedareddy did ‘Sivabhishekham’ and planted

three spears. He also promised the ritual process every year. After ten

years there were thirty spears and three were to be added to that number.

It was a festive day and Pedareddy, his members of family attended it.

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The priest traced the missing of spears. Meanwhile the released band

from the jail appeared with a spear and killed Pedareddy and his other

members. His family had become heirless. The blood was flowing and in

the early of the dawn the birds were flying.

City Beautiful is written in 1984. Devadas, a student of second year

medicine course, has a straight forward nature unlike his other classmates.

Watching second shows, smoking and reading literature are his hobbies.

There is no student- teacher relation with his professor of Anatomy. The

professor would dictate the old notes and show a kind of jealousy against

the intelligent students. All this has made Devadas to skip his classes, as a

result of which his attendance was low and he was detained from final

examinations of second year by his professor quoting the constitution.

According to Devadas the constitution was not well maintained properly

as there were no reminders. There was a heated debate but the professor

felt that the absence of Devadas to his theory classes was an insult to his

teaching and did not do any favour. Devadas scolded him and returned to

his room. His friend Ilangoe tried to call for a meeting among student

union but Devadas did not like the proposal. In order to avoid the flood of

sympathy from the other students Devadas wanted to go to a movie. He

did not get a ticket there. But he was acquainted with a girl student there.

There were silver jubilee celebrations in a women’s college. The girl

forced Devadas to buy one tambala ticket for which he got a bottle of

whisky. He went to the beach, started sipping it and remembered his love

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episode with Lavanya in the early days of his medical college life. He was

walking towards the hostel at 12o! clock thinking the entry of 26th

examination date, the day of Anatomy test. When he reached the room,

there was chicken and fried rice arranged by Ilangoe. He did not eat rice

but slept. That was a nightmare for him. He decided to go to his village.

But his brother advised him to continue his stay till the end of his exams

to keep his father in dark about all these happenings. Devadas postponed

his journey, took Ilangoe’s byke, drove endlessly, met with an accident

and got operated in a hospital. As Kesava Reddy himself had the

experience of medical college, the atmosphere of this novel was framed in

a natural background covering a day, from 25th to 26th morning, in the life

of a medical student.

His. novel Ramuduimadu; Raii Vundaadi is placed in an Agraharam

on the highway of Tripathi and Palamaneru in Andhra Pradesh.

Pedanayudu, possessing two hundred acres of land, moved to city. His

representative, Mutyalanaidu was looking after the property matters.

‘Konigadu’ was a labourer for past thirty years of his life trying to clear

his debt of Rs 800/- he would be free in next four days of Ganga Jatara.

Meanwhile Mutyalanaidu tried to trap Pulligadu, the son of Konigadu so

that the bonded labour would continue. Pulligadu who was laboring in

Chennai returned to his village and in the absence of his father learnt how

the laborers were exploited. Konigadu got his bond sheet and asked his

son to calculate his coolie. The amount turned to some lakhs. To clear

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some meager amount he served for 30 years unpaid. Konigadu, Pulligadu

and some others understood the exploitation and left the place.

Kesava Reddy’s fourth novel Athadu Adivini Jayinchadu (He

Conquered the Jungle) tells us the story of an old, expert huntsman aged

seventy years. The novel consists of twenty one chapters. Kesava Reddy's

Athadu Adavini Jayinchadu (He conquered the jungle) is his fourth work

and unique among his works. This novella was serialized in 1984 and

published in book form in 1985. His work was translated in 2000 by CLL

Jayaprada. All his slender works - eight novellas in all- display thematic

depth, technical virtuosity and linguistic innovation and lend his works

aesthetic appeal and an enduring value. Kesava Reddy writes about

outeastes, downtrodden, about the least noticed and the most neglected

members of society. He writes with compassion and understanding about

their heroic battle for survival. Endowed with acute powers of observation

and insight Kesava Reddy writes about the lowliest of the lowly. To be

able to write with such understanding about people and things they do not

form part of his personal experience calls for an extraordinary feat of

imagination.

The setting of the story was a forest. The old man was ill and.hence

confined to the hut and his grandson had taken the pigs out to graze. He

had two pigsties. The sukka sow in the sty lay with its 12 new bom

piglets. It was pride, pleasure and satisfaction to watch the mother sow

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and its little ones for the oldman. It was about to dark and the oldman

worried about the delay in the return of the grandson and the pigs. His

pigs were everything to him. They were his sole wealth and hence

misgivings and apprehensions rose in his mind: “Perhaps the pigs got out

of control and into trouble. Or was the boy himself in danger.” (2) He was

perplexed for a while and finally decided: “I am going in search of the

pigs now. If they are in danger, I have to rescue them mustering courage

and strength. I don’t know in what condition I’ll find the pigs and the

boy.” (3) And he left the hut and set off westwards on the mud track.

As the sun sank and the moon strode high, the oldman walked fast.

He owned twenty pigs. Two of them were sukka sows, a special breed.

The pig is the sty had the 12 piglets four days ago. It was a feast to the

oldman and his grandson. They took turns singing after dinking pots of

today. Next day, the oldman was ill. The second sukka sow was ready to

deliver at any moment and the boy took her too for gazing. The old man’s

anxious mind traveled and he resumed his brisk walk. The ‘boy is neither

old enough nor experienced enough’ he reflected. Gopalo, the grandson

was not seen. There’s reason for the old man’s anxiety. The sukka sow

can be like a demon for a week after birthing.

After a while Gopalo was seen with the herd in which the sukka

sow was not found. Gopalo stood sobbing. He announced the missing of

the sukka sow in all tears. The old man asked Gopala to feed the pigs and

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pen them in carefully after reaching their hut. He decided to see to the

sow and accelerated the pace.

When he reached the footprints of the sow, he followed them and

settled on an areca nut tree placing his spear and knife. He raked the

forest which was beautiful in the moonlight. The sand was white. The

blossoms were shimmering. The breeze raised ripples on the surface of

the water. The gigantic trees in the jungle lay asleep holding the jungle

creatures like monkeys, birds and bears. The oldman continued watching

the jungle^ Later he reached the valley of the boulders. He felt a certain

odour: “The smell of afterbirth. The sow has laid the piglets in the tindra

bush” (24).

When the old man approached the tindra bush the sow squealed

fiercely and rushed towards him. He did not realize what was happening

to him. His body and mind froze in fear. The. sow felled him and began
& ■

goring him all over with her tusks. The oldman escaped miraculously. He

was pursued by the sow. He sat on a branch of sunkrenu tree this time.

When the oldman observed the sow circling the tree he worried at the

thought of the young piglets unprotected: “I don’t like the sow leaving her

young ones unprotected to pursue me” (26). In order to send the sow back

to the piglets, he decided to: “Curl up and lie on the branch like a white

caboose fish that lies underwater in the afternoon heat without a sound or

movement” (26). His trick worked. The sow retreated into the tindra

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bush. Seeing the sow entering the shrub was a high of relief to him.

Suddenly he realized a shivering his whole body. The wounds were no

ordinary words. The sukka sow inflicted so much pain resultant into

lacerated flesh hung from his legs and thighs: “I rolled in pain on the

ground when the sow struck me but could use neither the knife I carried

nor the spear in my hand” (27) he observed, however he was not in stock.

When he saw the sow it was as if he was riding an elephant. The old man

got excited remembering the piglets which he did not see yet. He moved

the edge ways on the branch and found out the sow and her piglets. He

started to count them to ten. He turned his joy into singing a song. He

feasted his eyes on their sensuous beauty and commented looking at the

moon: “Come on ... come and see. In the tindra bush there are ten moons

like you, infact, more beautiful.” (27) The old man wanted to help the

babbler which had done a good idea of showing him the way. He

pondered that he can take care of it by keeping it in a cage. He can give it

water in a hallowed mango seed and feed it grains and white ants through

the bars of the cage. Immediately he thought: “But how will the babbler

benefit by it? The only way I can help it is by letting it go free without

killing it.” (30) The old man tried to justify to his stay on the tree in the

jungle for the protection of the sow. His inner voice troubled him: “You

have not come here solely for that purpose. Does the sow need your

protection? In this jungle there are many nasty and mean creatures, and I

have to protect her and her young ones from them” (30), thinking thus, he

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justified his coming. Moreover, he assured the son his protection and

asked her to: “sleep peacefully. I will protect you. I have a spear with

me”. (30) Further, he started thinking of its secured stay place at his

home: “Where shall I keep the sow and piglets when I take them

tomorrow? It is not possible to keep the sow in the existing pigsty along

with the other pigs. I must build another pigsty. But that is not easy.” (31)

He pondered for a while and concluded: “. I’ll take them straight to my

shack. The boy and I will sleep under the sigare tree. We can manage

anywhere.” (31) The babbler sat on the grass, pecked at the white ants,

filled its belly, rubbed its beak, flew into the air, returned after slacking its

thirst, perched on the tindra shrub and hooted. The old man thought:

“This babbler is singing a lullaby to the piglets.” (31) The old man was

very happy. He tried to remember the face he had seen first at the day

break: “The first thing I saw this morning was the sow.” (32) He felt

proud in spite of the truth that the first and last things he saw everyday

were pigs: “From dusk to daybreak he dreamt always about his pigs

only”. (32) It was the month of Chitri and was the breading time of foxes

and wolves. They would turn nasty in forging for food. He was in a

battlefield and he knew well that he should be alert. He was there to guard

the sow and hence ignored so many wounds on his body. It was past

midnight and there were numerous canes and bushes with jackals, wolves

and tigers that hunt and tear to pieces the week and helpless. The old man

then saw a jackal in the valley of boulders. He watched its movements

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acknowledging it as the great strategist. As the jackal was approaching

the shrub steadily and soundlessly the oldman aimed the spear at it. The

jackal was ready to leap into the bush. The sow leapt out suddenly and

severed the neck and mauled the jackal. The old man yelled: “That’s it

Sukkilum.” (35) The old man continued to laugh. The sow rested and was

calm after so much terror created. For the old man: “What she performed

was not a kill but a yagnam.” (36) He approved the sow fighting: “I

would like to reward you. What do you want? But there is nothing you

lack. You have ten young ones as beautiful as the moon”. (37) For him

the sow was an idiot and ignorant creature too as it: “...can’t tell your

own and others apart.”(37) At the same time it was a great warrior: “You

can leap like lightning and tear asunder like a thunderbolt.” (37) The

oldman, however, could not reward; could not caress the sow and hence

decided to sing a song for her. Suddenly he realized the gap in the poetry:

“People have written about peacocks and swans. But nobody bothered to

write about you.” (37) He concluded saying that there are innumerable

songs, poems and stories about Bhimasena. He decided to sing them: “If I

sing about Bhimasena, it is the same as singing about you.” (37) He sang

from a folk play then. After a while he stood up as his body had grown

numb. Seeing four jackals in the valley he was freezed in feai;. The jackals

stopped on seeing the dead jackal beside the tindra bush. They made a

scrutiny. The oldman observed the movements of the pack keenly: “The

jackals will not move forward after seeing the blood spattered carcass of

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their brother. Their hearts would have turned to water. They will curl their

tails between their legs and flee.” (45) He told himself. He saw the jackals

closing in upon the bush from east, west, north and south. The sow
\

pounced on the jackal that came from the east. The oldman aimed his

spear to the jackal that came from the west. The jackals that came from

the north and the south leapt into the bush and picked up a piglet each and

ran away. The oldman felt so much pain. The sow settled again in the

bush. The oldman took a quick count of them. There were only eight then.

He began to mutter: “I lost two little ones. I am an unlucky wretch, lost

two piglets.” (42) The babbler settled there and cried ceaselessly. The

oldman doubted the attack of jackals due to its harangue. He drew the

knife from his waist and aimed at the babbler and it died. The

surroundings were repulsive to the old man. He saw the dead jackals and

the babbler. His heart stirred at the latter. It came to his mind that: “The

innocent babbler and the recalcitrant sow are both obstacles in the
►

achievements of my goal.” (44) There was a wound on her. The oldman

wanted to wash it with salt water and dress the wound the very coming

morning. Later the old man had a new idea. He decided to consider those

two unborn. He wanted to say that only eight young ones were bom to the

villagers and the boy as well. He also realized the mistakes he committed

so clearly. He would have kept the sow in the yard and fed it. He would

have brought a catapult to protect every piglet. The old man senses his

will weakened. He remembered his past life. In his adolescent stage a

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military battalion had camped. The soldiers tormented the villagers. They

asked him two pigs. He refused them bluntly and fought ferociously. This

flashback made him to regain his spirits. In order to be armed he retrieved

his spear. He wished the rest of the night might pass peacefully. However,

he knew well: “That’s impossible. No creature ever lived without fear of

an enemy in any yuga.” (51) The surroundings were noisy and the

whining ofjackals made the oldman trembled. There were more than fifty

jackals in number. The jackals encircled the tindra bush and gradually the

circle was tightened. The sow scented the jackals and grew bewildered. It

caught between the urge to pounce on the enemy and the inability to leave

the piglets unprotected the oldman understood the situation tough. It was

a moment of action. A terrible incident would happen. He hurled the

spear at the sow and it pierced the sow’s body. The oldman leapt down,

roared terrifyingly. The jackals made off in all directions at once. He

pulled out the spear that was lodged in the sow and muttered. There was

no other way to save the piglets. He planned to set the eight piglets down

with the other sow that just had piglets in his sty. For him, the battle was

not yet over. He had to feed them before daybreak. He had woven a

bamboo basket and tried to take away the carcass of the sow also. But he

could not load himself. He set the piglets, then, at the bottom of the

basket thinking: “To save the piglets I lost my sow. Now I shall leave the

carcass of the sow for the sake of the piglets. No man is altogether

fortunate. No man is successful in everything he attempts. Life is a

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balance of conquests and defeats. Like the tears that reduce the burden of

sorrow, the consciousness of the balance gives comfort in defeat.” (55)

Thus, the old man set off.

The old man walked feeling the ceaseless movement of piglets in

the basket. After sometime when they stopped stirring, he examined them.

They lay still. They could not be survived long without milk. He started

walking again but he was rapidly overtaken by weakness. Suddenly his

head reeled and got over his drowsiness soon. He stopped at a pool drank

handfuls of water, recalled an incident of almost 40 years ago. The

oldman closed and opened his eyes. Gradually he entered into a state

which was neither sleep nor dream. When he opened his eyes he saw four

vultures on the rim of the basket. He hurled the spear at the vultures. It

missed the aim. The vultures rose heavily into the air. In place of the

piglets there were eight lumps of flesh. There were tears in his eyes. As

self-pity engulfed him, he thought: “The battle is finished. I am utterly

defeated.” (61) By the time he reached the shack, it was late in the

morning. The boy was sleeping still. He collapsed on the earthen floor.

He was the very picture of inertia: “Did I fight so much only to be seized

by torpor?” (61) He wondered at the restlessness of his mind. He thought:

“But I must put an end to these thoughts and rest my exhausted mind.

There are many things I have to do later because this is not the last day of

my life. I have suffered the greatest misfortunes today and endured

countless blows of luck. Even then, it is not the last day of my life.”(62)

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Slowly he slipped into sleep. The boy woke up at the screeching of the

bullock cart wheel. He saw the old man sleeping the knife and spear were

beside him. He found his grandfather’s body soaked in blood. He saw the

thighs and legs with the lacerate flesh hung loose. As tears welled in his

eyes, the boy approached the old man and sat at his feet.

The present novella shows man alone in his quest and struggle. The

novel seems to underline the essential aloneness of man, his Sisyphean

struggle and his capacity to endure and overcome. The protagonist of this

little classic with less than a hundred pages has entered into the

impenetrable jungle on a lone search that acquires a larger significance.

The old man was decapacitated by old age. He was seventy. He set out

alone in desperate search for his sow. Neither his age nor the time of his

search deters the old man from his determination to find the sow and his

litter. He must seek them out and protest them from wild animals of the

forest. Armed with no more than a spear and a knife, the old man falls

back on his huntsman’s skills and unconquerable will.

In the forest, it was time for the wild animals to emerge from their

lairs. He tracked the sow after a long and arduous search. He found that

she had just ten young ones there. His eagerness to have a look at the

piglets drew attention to himself. As a result he was chased and attacked

by the ferocious mother. Lacerations bleeding, he shined up a tree to save

himself. His wounds and pain were swiftly submerges by his ecstatic and

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excited mood; his euphoria lay in the sight of the ten beautiful piglets. He

now decides to stand guard over the mother and her litter to protect them

from wild animals. As the night progress, a lone jackal first sneaked in

but the mother teased it to pieces. Soon a pack of four jackals approached.

The mother pig killed one; the old man speared another from his perch on

the tree, while the other two jackals ran away with a piglet each. A little
«
later a large pack of jackals were seen coming towards the bush. Now the

old man quickly realized that the sow, being one against many, could not

protect her litter. He must come down from his perch to drive away the

jackals for which he had first to kill the sow. He was reluctant to kill her

but decided to do so in order to save the remaining eight piglets. He

quickly speared the sow and succeeded in driving the jackals away.

Eventually he made a basket to carry home the eight piglets. When

weariness overtook him he dropped off, and woke up to find that vultures

had pecked to death the already starving piglets. He felt utterly

defeated. He recollected how, in the past, a shepherd in the jungle had

hanged himself on discovering the death of his whole herd. If the old mail

did not end up like the shepherd, it would only because of a stoicism of

mature years. He survived although was driven to desperation, and his

survival was his triumph. He was an old man who was aged with earthy

commonsense, with a long and varied life before him; his powers of acute

observation and his capacity for analysis and correlating experiences set

him as an expert hunt man in the reader’s eye.

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