ZATINCHIM DURGAM ANI TODDZODD

Mog soglleam addkholincher ani odruxttancher zoit vhorta hi kolpona amkam novi nhoi. TV-cher ani cholchitramni ami tem polletat ani sahityantui tem amkam vachunk melltta. Soglea avhanak ani koxttank fuddo korun aplea mogak somazachi man’yotai tim koxim mellovn ghetat  henvui ami pollelam. Punn osleo kannio kolponik (utopian) aslolean amkam khorem chitr dixtti poddonam. Boroilam vo dakhoilam titlem tem sompem nasta.

               Pandharinath D. Lotlikarachi poilich kadom’bori Toddzodd amkam oslich ek kanni sangta. Konknni vachpeank Lotlikar onvollkhi nhoi karonn tannem aplem likhann Romi ani nagri lipint chappun haddlolem asa. Akaxvanni ani Durdorxonacher tannem nokri kelea ani Romi lipintlea borovpeanchem sahityik yogdan vollkhun ghevun ani aplem likhann chodd ani chodd vachpeam meren pavchem mhunnon tannem hi kadombori romi lipintlean uzvaddak haddlea.

              Hi kadom’bori veg-vegllea patram bhonvtonnim ghunvta: Kristanv-Hindu, voilea ani sokoilea zatinche ani gorib-girest. He kadom’borichem mukhel patr Suzan. Tem gorib ghorabeantlem ani sokoilea zatichem oxem Pandharinath-babachea likhannantlean spoxtt zata. Suzan aplea patranvachea putachea, Babushachea, mogan poddta ani kazar zaunche adinch tem gorbest zata.  Oslea vellar, patranvacho put Babush ghorcheancheo addkholli astanaim Suzana lagim kazar zavunk kobul zata.  Punn tachim ghorchim tancher add yetat. Haka lagun ghorbhpata xivai dusro rosto Suzanak disona ani lojek poddchim nhoi mhunnon Gulfant aplea bapai sorxim tem ani tachi avoi vetat.

               Suzanacho mam’ adhunik vicharancho. Tachea mota pormonnem mog asta thuim zat ani kat manop sarkem nhoi mhunnon. Dekhun Antao-Uncle fuddakar gheta ani Suzanache famili borobor kazarachem ulovop korunk Babushachea ghora veta. Punn tankam thoimchim dhanvddaitat ani  pulisancho adar gheun tankam bhonddkhonnint pasun ghaltat. Kadom’borint Babush ek tovnas bhurgo oxem dakhoila zo apleo vaitt sonvõyo kosoch soddunk sodinam. Kaim vorsam sorlea uprant Suzan Gõyant portota.

               Aplea sobhavak lagun Babushachem vaitt nanv ganvbhor posorta ani taka ekui soirik yena. Babush apleo khonti-dukhi soreant buddoita. Tachea avoy-bapaik zori chinta zata tori mijaxen ani vhoddponnan buddlolim tim astat ani dusreank – odik korun sokoilea-zatichea mon’xeak – hinnsavpachem tim soddinant. Punn hanga kanni ek vegllench vollon gheta. Tanchi dhuv Subhada eka Biharchea tornattea borobor pollon veta. Tednam tankam kollon yeta ki Subhadacho ixtt, Udai zo mhaleanche zatintlo asta ani zannem nigtench aplem dotorponnachem xikop kobar kelolem asta, to Subhadak boro sangati sobhtalo aslo mhunnon.

               Oxir monachim him mon’xeam xevttim aplem chintop bodoltat ani soglem zagear ghalunk vavurtat. Babushachem mon azunuim Suzanak axeta. Jednam Suzanachi famil ani Delhi-cho ek builder­ tanchea bhat-bhensachea kestanvant guspota tednam vatt meklli korunk Babush tankam adar dita ani hem polleun Suzanacheim mon bodolpak lagta. Xekim Suzan ani Babush kazar zatat ani sogllim sukan aplem jivit sartat!

                Mhojea mota pormonnem zaite mud’de borovpean kadom’borint zori voir kaddleat tori zaite uzvadd ghalinastanam urleat ani te ami bariksannem niyallunk zay. Zaticheo beddiyo toddtolo zalear Lotlikar-bab suchoita tem oxem: Aplea bhurgeamni ghetlolea oslea nirnnoyant voddilamni modem poddchem nhoi. Punn kadomborintlea Adlem Chintop hea mathallea khal boroilolea bhagant, zatichea ani dhormachea vadak lagon poddloli futt, vachpeak somzun ghevunk komi poddtta.  Borovpi dhorma vixim kai zati vixim boroita tem titlem spoxtt zainam.  Ontor-zati ani ontor-dhormik lognam (inter-caste/religious marriages) somazak nyai ani sukh mellovun ditolim, hem Lotlikar-babachem dhoronn amcheamni sompeponnim manun ghevunk zainam.  Kiteak oslea ontor-zati  kazaram modem je prosn uprastat te  Toddzodd kadom’borint zori sompeponnim hatall’leat tori te gombhir ani monant gondholl korpi asat. Dekhik, hea adhunik ani novsorlolea kallant ‘vorn-vevostha’ (zacher zat dhorloli asta) ostitvant nam oxem jem borovpi boroita tem manun ghevunk kotthin lagta.

           Suzan hem zori kadom’borintlem mukhel patr, torui tachea jivitantle sogle nirnnoi tacho Uncle-Antao hoch gheta vo aplea noxibant jem nirmilolem asa tem Suzan moneamni manun gheta oxem dakhoilam. Suzan jednam kazar zata tednam tem aplo dhorm ani nanvui bodolta – Suman, mhonnge borem mon oso tacho orth.  He ghoddnukecher borovpi vistaran boroinam ani toxem te sohoz ghoddta oxem dakhoita.  Hanga Suzanacho avaz ho tacho svotacho oso disonam.  Eke vatten vaitt tem soddun divun, borem tem apnnavunk borovpi ulo kortanam eke ostoren aplo dhormuch nhoi tor apli vollokh ani osmitai pasun soddun divop hacher Lotlikar-bab titlo uzvadd ghalina. Oslea ontor-dhormik/zati logna viximchea nirnnoyant avoy-bapain toddzodd korunk zai oxem he kadomboricho hetu asa.  Punn hanga gorib ani sokoilea zatichea Suzanan matr chodd toddzodd keloli disun yeta.

            Zatichem ani protinidhitvachem rajkaronn (politics of representation) koddek dovorlem zalear, Pandharinath Lotlikar ho Konknnintlo ek boreantlo boro borovpi oxem amcheamni mhunnonk zata.  Tachi bhas sundor ani rosall.  He kadom’borint bore hansovpache khinn amkam vachunk melltat.  Dekik, Carnival Ball-ak Babushachim kelolim fokanddam.  Zorui ami  Toddzodd hea utrache don bhag kele zalear amkam don vegllim utram mellttat: todd (mhonnge toddop) ani zodd (mhonnge zoddop). Novo somaz ghoddunk vechea poilim, zatichea bhedbhavacheo sankhlleo ami toddunk zai.  Magir amkam toddzodd korchi gorozuch ghoddiye poddchinam.

Toddzodd borovpi Pandharinath D. Lotlikar (Ponnji: Dalgado Konknni Akademi), 2011; panam 155, Mol Rs. 50/-; Fon: 91-0832-2221688 (Mellta Dalgado Konknni Akademi, Ponnje)

 

(Ho lekh Amcho Avaz-acher uzvaddak aila, tarik: 14 Setembr, 2013, pan 10)  

Inglezint hoch lekh vach hanga. (English translation)

CASTE AND COMPROMISE

Love triumphs all, is a theme that is not new to any of us. We have experienced this theme in movies, TV soaps and literature: the lovers go against all odds to assert their love for each other and to gain acceptance in a wider society of their (generally) clandestine affair. I have always felt that such narratives provide a utopian picture of the real world for us. Things are not always as black and white as they are made to appear…

               Pandharinath D. Lotlikar’s debut novel Toddzodd joins the long list of such narratives. He is no stranger to the readers of Konknni, having contributed to various magazines and having written both in Romi and nagri. Formerly with the All India Radio and Durdarshan, he decided to publish his first novel in the Roman script because he wanted his novel to reach a wider audience all the while acknowledging the important contribution of writers in this particular script to the corpus of Konknni literature.

               The story that Pandharinath Lotlikar sets out to tell is one which moves back-and-forth between many identities: Catholic-Hindu, rich-poor, upper-caste-lower-caste. The protagonist of the novel is Suzan who is Catholic, as the name suggests. Suzan is also a girl coming from a financially modest family and as suggested by the narrative of the novel, one can safely presume that she is of low-caste birth. She falls in love with the son of her boss and their amorous affair eventually leads Suzan to unwed pregnancy. Although the son, who is known as Babush, agrees to marry her, there is a lot of opposition from his family. Hence, Suzan has to abort the child and due to the stigma attached to unwed pregnancy, along with her mother leaves for the Gulf where her father is employed.

               Suzan has a very sympathetic and ‘modern-thinking’ uncle. He is of the opinion that narrow barriers such as caste and wealth should not come between the union of two people. To that effect, Suzan’s family visits the house of Babush to discuss the marriage arrangements. But they are driven out very unceremoniously and due to influential contacts of the father of Babush with the police, they even get arrested. Babush is cast as a playboy, who even after the fiasco with Suzan does not stop his philandering and hedonistic ways. After a few years Suzan returns back to Goa.

               Due to his immoral behaviour, Babush receives a lot of infamy and his chances of a happy married life are impaired because of his previous record. Babush starts to drown his sorrows in alcohol, which concerns his parents. His parents Mr. and Mrs. Khomvtte (Khaunte) are these elitist bigots who like to keep their distance from the ‘others’ and who never fail to insult those people who are low-castes, for instance Subhada’s friend Udai. The story takes a turn when their daughter Subhada elopes with a boy from Bihar. It is here they realize that Subhada’s friend Udai, who was from the barber’s community and who had just completed his studies in medicine could have been a suitable match for their daughter.

               The bigoted parents realize their faults and set out to make amends. Bubush now has to redeem himself in the eyes of Suzan because he realizes that he still has feelings for her. Since Babush helps Suzan’s family in a nasty property dispute involving an unscrupulous builder from Delhi, things start to change for the better. In the end they get married and even the estranged daughter and son-in-law of Mr. Khomvtte are reunited with the family. Happy ending!

               Although there is a happy ending to this novel, I believe that there are many issues that the author has raised and some that he has glossed over and such issues need to be critically examined. In order to break the narrow shackles of caste, Pandharinath Lotlikar suggests and in a way endorses least possible interference by adults when the question of their children’s marriage is concerned. But the rubric of adlem chintop (old thinking) is too broad or vague to discuss caste divisions or religious divisions. There are no clear-cut indications of whether the author is pointing towards caste or religion. The idea that inter-caste/religious marriages can lead to greater social justice and general happiness is not something that one can easily accept because the power and gender relations of caste and marriage are much more confounding than the simplistic view that we find in Toddzodd like, for instance, “Vornna vevostha” or Varna hierarchy is no longer existent in contemporary and technologically advanced times.

               Although Suzan is the protagonist of the novel, her role is that of the passive bystander. Most of the decisions pertaining to her life are either made by her uncle, Antao or she is shown as having no other option but to accept what fate has in store for her. When Suzan gets married she is shown to have converted to the religion of her husband and even gets her name changed to Suman – one who has a good/pure mind. The author here doesn’t dwell much on this aspect of the story; it is treated as something very natural in the course of events of the story. Suzan’s voice is not her own and it is in the treatment and construction of the character of Suzan that the contradictions, conflicts and dichotomies of such thinking, like that of Pandharinath Lotlikar, come to the fore. It also exposes the shaky arguments that are made by the author against caste/religion-based inequalities for on one hand a call is given to abandon the old (read as bad) and burst forth into the new, which is egalitarian and good; but on the other one can find such practices of not only asking a woman to convert but also fundamentally changing her identity by way of giving a new name. And because the author has not bothered to comment and clarify his stand on this glaring contradiction, I feel that it has been glossed over. Although the idea behind this novel is the compromises that parents should make when marriage of their children is concerned, Suzan the poor and presumably low-caste Catholic girl seems to be making the most compromises.

            Politics of representation and caste aside, Pandharinath has a beautiful way of writing Konknni. It is simple yet mellifluous. There are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments in the novel such as the prank that is played on Babush during the Carnival ball! If we beak the title Toddzodd into two equal halves we get two different words: todd (=to break) and zodd (=to join). I feel that one needs to break a lot of casteist mindsets before we start building a new society. Perhaps then toddzodd or compromise may not be required.

Toddzodd by Pandharinath D. Lotlikar (Panjim/Ponnji: Dalgado Konknni Akademi), 2011; pp. 155, Rs. 50/-; Phone: 91-0832-2221688 (Available at Dalgado Konknni Akademi, Panjim)

(A version of this article appeared on Gomantak Times, dt: July 7, 2012)