The workings of time
Redemption is
the story of a
family, linked to
I n d i a ' s
evolution. It
explores the
uneasy interface between class
and caste against the historical
backdrop to demystify the
tenuous underpinnings of a
fragmented socio-political
milieu, floundering amidst
change. Dhaka's Chaudhurys
relocate before the partition of
India to Calcutta, city of
Goddess Kali. It is dense with
emotion and religious fervour.
They live in a decaying house,
ascribing their travails to an
unnatural death over two
centuries ago. Aparajita, a
widowed daughter, seeks
refuge in Banaras. Solitary
persons join those outside the
social pale to find meaning
through devotional life.
Unceasing inroads by
outsiders spur emergence of
the savarna edifice, modelled
on Avestan pistras, helmed by
priests, perhaps as a means to
absorb them. It undermines
older avarna paths that centre
on oneness of life and the
personal quest: shramanic,
Vedantic, Jain, Buddhist ,
duotheist, yogic, devotional,
ascetic, tantric.
Islamic depredations from
the early 8th century AD
bolster orthodox resurgence.
Absorption of aliens, a
continuous process, engenders
racial admixture. Srimad
Bhagwat Puran refers to "Kirat,
Hun, Andhra, Pulind, Pulkas,
Abhir, Sumbh, Yavan, members of the Khas races and even
others" seeking deliverance by
embracing the Vaishnav faith,
and, no doubt, other credos.
This debunks the colonial view
that one is born and not made
Hindu, premised on birth into
a caste. Assimilation and
proselytism facilitate entry of myriad foreigners, as too of
tribals and subalterns into elite
tiers; and emergence of
thousands of jaatis.
As natives cede ground, they
seek work under foreign
rulers. So do the Chaudhurys.
Burdened early with family
duties as the eldest son, Girish
falls back on tradition for
solace. Younger kin break
away. Tara moves to Delhi. As a
locus of power the city has
witnessed the rise and fall of
empires.
Political manoeuvres over
the site of a derelict mosque,
reputed to be Sri Ram's
birthplace in Ayodhya, spiral
out of control. Pursuing
happiness obsessively, Tara
teeters on the edge. Light
dawns after a day of violent
reprisal.
Anuradha Dutt
The mythical and real merge
as these lives unfold Muslims
come to vanquish, later
settling into their own space,
to be overcome by the British;
and the latter, wily traders,
become unlikely saviours of
the dispossessed. But colonial
stratagems also serve to
entrench caste and communal
politics.
The ordered world coexists
with other worlds that spurn
the way of regulated conduct.
Fearful mysteries of the
cremation ground and rites of
sex and magic unveil the
subterranean quest. Every
propensity finds an outlet
through religion, the profane
merging with the sacred. The
workings of time shape the
end.