Carrying tales
NIMI KURIAN
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Old stories told from a new perspective make this book an interesting read.
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Scarless Face and Other Stories edited by Griffin Ondaatje, Harper Collins Publishers India, Rs. 295
GRAEME MACQUEEN says in the Foreword: The stories in this book have been dear to people in Sri Lanka for many years. Some of them began on the island and some began elsewhere and were welcomed, adopted, retold by Sri Lankans.
The idea for Scarless Face and Other Stories came about at a conference on peace held in Sri Lanka. The editor, Griffin Ondaatje, decided to collect and organise tales and legends told in Sri Lanka. Probably his only criterion was that these tales should be popular ones, told over generations. So there are retellings of old familiars by Canadian and Sri Lankan writers who have not brought in new life but managed to give a new slant. And since many writers were involved the collection takes on a distinctive image with some of them sticking to the original and others veering way off. Different writing styles and perspectives make the stories interesting and ultimately the book makes for a remarkable read.
Various sources
Stories are drawn from Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim traditions and there is a story from the Ramayana and another from the Mahabarata. Of course there are retellings from the Jataka tales too that are at once familiar and fun to re-read.
The long list of writers includes Graeme Macqueen and Griffin Ondaatje, Shyam Selvadurai, M.G. Vassanji. Probably the most sensitively told story is Griffin Ondaatje's "The Camel Who Cried in the Sun". The great sadness of the animal is touching, evoking feelings of kindness and consideration. Until finally, there is solace in the message of the Prophet.
At the other end of the spectrum is M.G. Vassanji's "The Cycle of Revenge" churning up visions of hatred and jealousy. Disturbing yes, but ultimately a moral story with a message of peace and non-violence.
Macqueen's "Just like the Rest" is a captivating story about a king who loved to hunt. And one day, while hunting, he decrees that anyone who misses that day would be put to death. The king then sees a stag: His body was great and dark like the shadow of a cloud and his antlers were like the branches of an oak. But what the king does not realise that this stag is no ordinary animal but the "Great Being, the one headed for Freedom, the one who would become the Teacher, the one who would help the world to lay down its burden, the one who would dry the world's tears". The king's encounter with the Great Being brings about such a change in him that everyone is surprised.
"Two Friends by the Villu" by Ranjini Obeyesekere is a story of wit and cunning, much like Raj Ramanathapillai's "The Monkey and the Crocodile".
Animals that talk, demons, magic, wisdom, and morality — this collection of stories has them all. Most importantly, it is a throwback to childhood and Jataka tales, Panchatantra and Amar Chitra Katha.
An illustration of innocence is "Scarless Face" by Griffin Ondaatje. It is a story of Scarless Face "a lucky and blessed elephant". The elephant was protected from the world's pain, ugliness and cruelty because the king favoured him. His loss of innocence is the cause for concern here.
"Narada's Lesson" retold by P.K. Page tackles the question of maya. His teachers have told Narada that the world and everything he experiences is an illusion. He finds it difficult to understand this concept. "How is it possible that everything I touch, taste, smell, hear and see is an illusion?" he asks. But no one is able to answer his question. Until many years later while he is at prayer, Vishnu comes to him and still puzzled he puts this question to Vishnu. In answering this question Vishnu puts Narada through an experience of becoming a householder once again, until a flood washes away everything and everyone of his family. In the end "Child," the god spoke again, the same enigmatic smile on his beautiful cruel lips, "now do you understand the secret of my maya?"
Ondaatje concludes his Introduction by saying, "We move in our own world as kids, and bring it with us wherever we go. Maybe we still do that as adults — carry other stories beside our own. Folktales and legends hold still for us, let us catch up, and they reveal new meanings when we let them travel alongside us. This book carries tales and legends from the East, which may travel alongside you and keep retelling stories beside your own." And this could be the reason why this book would be read.
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