Darlymple's Nine Lives

N was out of town last weekend leaving me amidst my not so social escapades. These included a solitary trip to India Gate and a finale to the book that I have been reading over the past week. I have never been very fond of non-fiction; I find them dry and uninteresting. So I had my reservations about this book from the start. I picked up this book at the World Book Fair, which had otherwise nothing much to offer. Most stalls at the fair displayed books in French, Arabic and Mandarin - none of which I understand. "Nine Lives"somehow was all over the only stalls featuring English books. The cover had a picture of a colorful kathakali dancer and the name sounded intriguing - so I picked it up on those considerations without much critical thought.

"Nine Lives"describes the lives of nine people who have defied the popular mainstream concept of God and chosen a completely different way of observing religion. The book tells stories of these nine people, at the same time expressing concern about the survival of these traditions amidst a homogenized world. India is the birthplace of many religious philosophies, probably because there was never a dominant religious thought in India. Hinduism, by most counts, cannot be described as a religion - it is just a way of life of the people who lived beyond the Indus. Every religion that came to India got assimilated in this way of living and these nine people are today living examples of this mix.

"The nun's tale" takes us through the life of Prasannamati Mataji, a Jain nun, who has decided to embrace death through sallekhana - a jain practice of slowly giving up food and water and dying voluntarily. The next story, "Dancer of Kannur"is about Hari Das a dalit theyyam dancer in Kerela, living a dual life - dressed up and worshipped as God for three months of festivities and building wells for the rest of the year. "Singer of epics"hails the rich oral tradition of Rajasthan where bhopas have kept the story of Pabuji - the cattle God alive. "Daughters of Yellamma" descibes the life of Rani, a devadasi, a female servant who dedicates her life to God. "The red fairy" is about Lal Peri, a girl from rural Bihar who ended up at Sehwan, Sindh and has given up her life in service of the Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar."Maker of Idols"aquaints us with Srikanda whose family have been creators of God from the times of Cholas . "The monk's tale" is about a Tibetan monk who gave up his vows for the protection of his land. "The lady twilight" takes us to Tarapith where Manisha Ma lives in a crematorium offering blood and skulls to Goddess Tara. "Song of the blind Mistrel"is about Baul singers of Bengal who use songs as a medium to reach out to God.

I have never been a great follower of religion - in fact I would describe myself as an agnostic. Visit to temples does not calm me and I find it very surprising to see people facing such troubles just to get a glimpse of God. I liked that Darlymple made us aware of people who feel suffocated in the confines of the strict religious parameters that have been laid down by populism. My favorite of the lot was the story of "Lal Peri", for the reason that personally I feel deeply attracted to the ideas of Sufism. It was fascinating to see how Lal Peri, a Bihari rejected by India because she was a Muslim ended up in Bangladesh at the time of partition. In 1971, when Pakistan broke, Banglas also shunned her and she moved to Karachi. But the idea of Wahabi Islam in Pakistan left her disenchanted and ultimately she found that the only people who would accept her were the Sufis of Sehwan. The story was a clear testimony of the miseries that people go through because of forced imposition of homogeneity.

Time and again in the book, the author expresses his concern about the survival of these traditions. But each story makes his concerns look baseless. In each of the stories we find that the followers of populist religion, who otherwise may not accept being associated with such eccentrics, are shown to submit to their traditions. So, we have a small time politician in Bihar, making a visit to Tarapith with goats as an offering to Ma Tara. And there are devout Brahmins in Kerela, bowing before the dalit Theyyam Gods, even though they may otherwise deny any affiliation with such a version of religion. It's amazing to see how the color of religion in India, somehow dilutes to give space to these hues of beliefs. The book definitely makes you think over before you can brand India as intolerant.

Darlymple is an amazing writer, who leaves no gap in detailing the colorful lives of these nine characters. At the end of the book, you feel as if you have journeyed the length and breadth of India and connected with these nine people yourself. The book has really enriched me and I feel glad that picked it up. So, do read and let me know what you felt about it.