“The Keeper of Desolation” is a collection of nine short stories written by Chandan Pandey and translated from Hindi by Sayari Debnath. Each of the stories is dark, hints at inner violence and is almost dystopian. Yet, surreal though the stories appear, each of them finds a faint resonance in reports that appear sporadically, get discussed for a few days and then disappear again. The power of the stories is in the fact that they seem absolutely improbable, yet remind us of real events.
In “The Alphabet of Grass”, a man takes a loan of eight thousand rupees to pay for the medical expenses of his pregnant wife. They lose the child anyway, but before he knows it, the repayment amount has ballooned to such an extent that the only way for him to repay it is by amputating his leg. It may seem like rhetoric, but it isn’t. By pretending to lose his leg in an accident at work, he can claim insurance, which after the middleman retains his share will help him square off his debt. The story is dark and seems almost dystopian. But is it? Aren’t there stories of farmer suicides buried deep in the newspapers? Don’t we occasionally read reports of women labourers having hysterectomies so they can continue to work at less than minimum wages without having to take days off for their periods?
“The Mathematics of Necessity” too highlights the same theme. A geography school teacher writes to the Prime Minister requesting him to change the formula for compound interest that banks and moneylenders charge people who do not have sufficient collateral to take more favourable loans. One of the reasons why the poor remain poor in the country is because they lack access to finance at reasonable rates. How better to drive this message home than through a story told from the perspective of a failed farmer turned school teacher?
In the story that gives the collection its name, “The Keeper of Desolation”, the distractingly beautiful wife of the local police officer loses her gold ring. All the usual suspects, and a few others are rounded up, and each of them not only confesses to the crime, but is able to conclusively prove that each of them is indeed guilty. Though apparently told in a light hearted vein, the story is a telling commentary on the power vested with the police and how they misuse it- it is black humour at its best..
Perhaps the most poignant story is “Forgetting”, where a family pins all its hope on one child, but paradoxically forgets the child even exists. In assigning to the individual the responsibility of moving the entire family out of poverty, and in working towards making sure he does so, the individual is denied his agency, and almost ceases to exist. This story too finds parallels in so many lower income families, where some individuals sacrifice their dreams to make others succeed, but they are vested with the responsibility of later looking after the entire family.
Though a work of fiction, the book is a reflection of the numerous injustices that people from lower income and middle income communities are subject to. The book also explores the hypocrisy of relationships, especially those between men and women. The book forces the reader to take a look at the reality that we try to ignore, in the hope that a truth is no longer a truth if it is not acknowledged as one. The book throws light of the power dynamics at play in every situation, and of how people can end up losing everything (including their life) if they question the rules set by those in a position of power.
Chandan Pandey burst like a meteor into the firmament of Indian-English books with his translated novella “Legal Fiction”. The book was hailed as “the Kafka in Deoria. Or Camus in the cowbelt”, and it was praised as being “a sharp look at a terrifying Indian-ism and the currents against it.” With “The Keeper of Desolation”, he consolidates his position as perhaps the most original voice who describes the reality of modern day India.
Disclaimer: The book (and Legal Fiction) are published by Harper Collins. I received a review copy of the book, but the views are my own.
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