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Literary Review
History into fiction
Lives from the past
KANISHKA GUPTA
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Though the details are stunningly vivid, the narrative flags at crucial points.
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Nothing is Blue; Biman Nath; HarperCollins. Rs.295.
Novels that rely heavily on research material are very often susceptible to information overload. This is truer of historical novels, where the writer has to pithily interweave atmosphere and time into the narrative so that it doesn’t suffer fr
om something that is both a constraint and a prerequisite of the genre. Nothing is Blue, an ambitious first novel by astrophysicist Biman Nath, although a deft chronicle of monastic life in 7th Century Nalanda and the famous Chinese traveller Xuanzang’s visit, fails to overcome this challenge.
The story is about two monks, Ananda and Kushala, living a secluded, scholarly life in Nalanda. Ananda is the meek, sensitive character, while Kushala – as much as the times and his calling permit – is a more colorful one who tests Ananda and the other monks at the monastery with his one-liners and ironic remarks. Their stay in the monastery coincides with the visit of Xuanzang, a Chinese traveler who has broken all the laws of his land to travel to Nalanda in order to be close to the Buddha’s abode.
One day, the two young monks are summoned by Shailabhadra, the ailing Padhana (principal) of the monastery, and asked to look after Xuanzang during his stay and assist him in his day-to-day activities. It is around this time that Ananda also becomes curious about Kushala’s nightly escapades. What follows is a tenuous patchwork of episodes: Xuanzang getting lessons from the senior monks, Ananda and Kushala accompanying him to nearby towns to familiarize him with his surroundings, debates on astrology, mathematics, and Buddha.
Twists in the tale
Throughout this, there is an undercurrent of tension between Ananda and Kushala, as the former continues to stay anxious about Kushala’s secrets and the latter does nothing more than drop hints. When, finally, Ananda stumbles upon it – a sect of monks from Nalanda, including Kushala, engaging in a ritual worship at a cremation ground – the distance between them grows. It is also during this time that Ananda grows fond of Shyamalata – a widow from a neighbouring town whose family supplies special food for Xuanzang as an offering because of his digestive problems.
It is while accompanying Xuanzang on a long visit that Ananda is able to stop at Ujjaini and, as requested by one of his seniors, find the answer to the riddle behind the movement of the zodiac signs in the sky. Ananda’s growing closeness to Xuanzang compels him to tell Xuanzang about Kushala, the tantric rituals, and about Shyamalata – whom he wishes to turn into a bhikhhuni (nun) so that she can escape the daily abuse by her in-laws. However, this is not meant to happen and Shyamalata kills herself, apparently from the guilt of being part of one of the tantric rituals. This enrages Ananda and he seeks out Kushala who had been expelled from the monastery after his deeds were discovered to find out why this had happened.
Over-descriptive
Biman Nath succeeds in describing the times vividly – the day-to-day monastic life, the attire, architecture, customs, myths, spiritual and intellectual preoccupations, all are drawn with stunning detail and verisimilitude. However, where the novel fails is in the lack of a plot , strong characters and engaging storytelling. The novel also suffers from over-descriptiveness, with Nath summoning the sun, moon, stars, wind, flowers, the horizon – anything visible to the human eye – to his rescue, as if to desperately fill gaps in the story.
There are also minor copyediting errors, but none which detract from the reading. Nothing is Blue is a classic example of an author grappling with the form of the novel probably because his material was more suited for non-fiction. Either way, this relatively unplumbed era could have been made fascinating in both forms.
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