கூள மாதாரி -பெருமாள் முருகன் (Koolamathari - Perumalmurugan)

Some years back I read some where about the book called "Seasons of Palm". At that time I did not know much about the author. Again I saw this book in a book store in Chennai. I asked the shopkeeper about the book he told that the book was good and "you can try". From that time onwards I was searching for this book everywhere. Three years before I did not find this book at Chennai Book Fair  and  last year I searched in two or three bookshops in Madurai I did not find it. I searched in Flipkart , but in vain, I found only "Maathorupagan" another great book by the same author. My luck changed , this year I found this book in Flipkart and I was so happy. Its was a special feeling finding a long searched book.

The book did not disappointed me.Worth a wait. From the start of this book search, without me knowing I started reading authors articles and stories published in various magazines and in author's website.By the time I started reading this book, I was familiar with the author's writing, which really helped a lot in reading this book.

Some points to ponder from this story:

• At very young age these children were taught about their caste which leads them to obey the masters without questioning.
•  Fear plays dramatic role in these children's life. Fear of masters.
• The usage of inhuman language by the masters were pathetic. These words will hurt anyone .
•  Physical intimidation: The harsh physical punishment even for small mistakes made an everlasting impact on the children's mind. 

This is the story of group of slave children (Kulaiyan,Vavuri, Sevidi ,Nedumban and Monti). These are goatherds working under upper-caste Gounder families. The main protagonist of this story is Kulaiyan. He is very hard working and take great care in shepherding his goat. He knew the punishments of Gounder for any wrong doings. So he is very attentive to goats. He was caught red handed for stealing coconuts and was hanged upside down and beaten right and left. That moment when he was hanging , his thoughts changes and he started looking his life in a different manner. He wants to have a complete freedom in his life, the three day stay in his grandmother's place made him realize the sweetness of freedom.

Nedumban's story is very interesting , he escapes from Gounder and started working in a shop in a town but he was caught and return to his old way of life. Did author thinks that there is no escape for these people? The relation between Kulaiyan and Selvan , the gounder's son, was very special , both were of same age and Selvan with his childishness share many moments with him including sharing his bed and his slippers.Though these behaviours made Kulaiyan very happy ,both knew the distance they should maintain.And Selvan was sure to show that whenever possible.The climax is quite chilling and I think an apt one as it relieves Kulaiyan from everything.

The way the author portrays the characters of Vavuri and the goat veeran - simply awesome. One will not forget these two characters easily.Through Vavuri the author brings the life of a little girl but matured who handles her life well in spite of her trouble. Her relationship with Kulaiyan was portrayed realistically.They call each of their goats with particular name and Veeran is one of them. Only Kulain knew Veeran . The death of Veeran was a big loss to Kulain and he was inconsolable.

For modern generation the lives of these kids will be a big shock or may be surprising too. The description of the forest and surrounding places were wonderful and terrifying  at times. The plants , creepers,goats ,insects and birds made the story even better and real.The author also highlights the suffering of these children specially the way they control their hunger, I almost cried! These kids accepts the life as it is. They realizes that they can not do much about their caste but only go with it. Even the selection of name for these slave kids and the rich Gounder kids itself speaks volume. The usage of Kongu slang made this story very real and great to read.

Above everything else this is a wonderful documentation of Kongu people's life and culture.The book will definitely bring back the childhood memories of the reader. Kudos to the author.

A great book by the great author.A must read book.