A PARABLE ON THEMES OF EXPLOITATION AND DISCRIMINATION

Book Review: "We Of The Forsaken World" by Kiran Bhat

People living on the fringes, the poor, and the tribals are very much under-represented in the literary scene. Few books cast them as protagonists and fewer movies cast them even in minor roles. However, all this is changing in the present artistic scene. The author Kiran Bhat, who has travelled to over 130 countries, lived in 18 different places, and speaks 12 languages, has come out with his debut novel “We Of The Forsaken World”, which is about people who live on the peripheries of our globalised world.

The cosmopolitan outlook of the author is reflected in the book, for this book’s writing may be described as unconventional, avant-garde or non-conformist by many. However, this very cosmopolitanism has given a certain sensibility to the author to write about sensitive issues.

The book is a story cycle, and consists of 16 stories. The author tells the stories of four worlds falling apart, through the structure of four linguistic chains, comprised of the accounts of four people witnessing the decline of these worlds, in four acts. There is an introductory map which shows the four places where the narratives progress. These places are ‘The Tribe Of The Silt’, ‘A Global Village’, ‘The Lake Of The Sacred Salt’, and ‘Black City’.

The book blurb reads, “In a distant corner of the globe, a man journeys to the birthplace of his mother, a tourist town destroyed by an industrial spill. In a nameless remote tribe, the chief’s second son is born, creating a scramble for succession as their jungles are being destroyed by loggers. In one of the world’s sprawling metropolises, a homeless one-armed woman sets out to take revenge upon the men who trafficked her. And, in a small village of shanty shacks connected only by a mud-and- concrete road, a milkmaid watches the girls she calls friends destroy her reputation.”

Though the structure of the book is somewhat unconventional for Indian readers, the themes that these stories discuss are truly universal. The themes of industrial exploitation, discrimination, fighting prejudices have been explored. However, along with these, the themes of heroism, courage, perseverance also thread these stories together. Like modern communication networks, these sixteen stories connect along subtle lines, dispersing at the moments where another story is about to take place.

The character development is great, with the characters navigating their individualistic stories with aplomb, and also getting transformed by their circumstances. Many metaphors, allegories and other literary devices also find a place in this book, complementing the narrative which has been presented as a parable.

The book also explores the issues of climate change, genocide, world wars and dictatorships. This is a book that should be read by readers who are interested in new and experimental writing, and those that want to foray into a bohemian literary journey. However, though the structure of this book may be somewhat unconventional, but not the themes which have been explored. Pick up this book to read about protagonists who are mostly at the peripheries, but should be at the collective centre of our present globalised world.