Box : கதைப் புத்தகம் - ஷோபாசக்தி

நிர்வாணம் மீது நிலவு தனது ஒளியை பாய்ச்சி நீர்மேல் நிற்கலாயிற்று. குளத்தின் மையத்தில் அமையாள் கிழவி பிறந்த மேனியாக மல்லாக்க நீந்திக்கொண்டிருந்தார். அப்போது பெரிய பள்ளன் குளத்தில் கார்த்திகை மாதச் சாமமாயிருந்தது.

The very first line (above)gave me goosebumps and it sets the tone for the whole novel.  This is the story of an imaginary village called "Periyapallan kulam"  after the war between LTTE and the Srilankan army.  Almost all of them have some deficiency in their bodies - the left over of the war.

இந்த உலகத்தில் நடந்த எந்த யுத்தத்தைப் பற்றிய வரலாறும் உண்மையாக, நடந்தது நடந்தபடி எழுதப்பட்டதில்லை. அந்த பொது விதிக்கு இந்த யுத்தமும் விதிவிலக்கல்ல.

Out of nowhere a little boy came to Periyapallan kulam , people named him Karthigai. They also believed he is dumb and everyone loved him and gave food whenever he asked. He stayed in Cemetery house of Titus Lemuel, though everyone scared of that house.  They enacted the war scenes for him which is very very disturbing for the readers. At some point it become unclear for the people which is real, the enacted play or the things happening around.One day suddenly the Srilankan Army announces that Periyapallan kulam is going to be military base and all the people should leave in a week time.  Except Karthigai and Umayal remains. One died and another revealed himself as a Buddhist monk.

I really don't know why there is a scene where Karthigai do the sexual thing , what the author trying to say ? - did the boy went through some sort of bad sexual experience at the Buddhist seminary? And that was the reason for his escape? I felt the story of Santha (Karthigai) is bit cinematic specially the climax.

The story goes back and forth in time. Each story rises to another one with history of war, like that we have forty stories and some statements or confessions.  The way the Srilankan army treated the captured and suspected fighters was something one cannot explain without tears. The chopping of toes, the repeated rapes and other inhuman torture techniques were used. Another thing i noticed in this book is nakedness -  the novel starts and ends with it, in between all the captured fighters were first undressed and made naked.The author did not forget to highlight the role of LTTE too - the secret prison, the burning of bus full of Sinhalese people and the cruel torture of so called betrayers .The author also highlights the caste division among these people and how the high caste people ruled and rules till now.

The box is a horrible symbol for Eelam people. The torturing of people inside the box , LTTE was surrounded in a box during the Ananthpuram battle and People restricted in a box in Vanni. Each story is a box which connects to another box. The boxes continues even after the war.

Many parts of this novel made me cry but one part which made me to put down the book and stare blankly on the wall for long time is the story of "அடிமைப்புலி". There is a brothel somewhere near Colombo where ex-LTTE female fighters are forced into sex. The authors description are very disturbing . Some claims that those girls are not ex-LTTE fighters  but normal Tamil girls kidnapped and forced into it . This is one of the unwritten rule of the war- winner rapes the loser's women. The mental stigma remains forever.

இரத்த சாட்சியான பாலச்சந்திரனையும், ஈழப்போரில் மாண்ட ஆயிரமாயிரம் குழந்தைகளையும் நினைவுகொள்கின்றேன். எங்களது சந்ததியைக் காக்க நாங்கள் தவறியிருந்தோம். அந்த மாசில்லாக் குழந்தைகளின் இரத்தப்பழி நம்முடனேயே இருக்கின்றது.

One cannot just read and go past the above line.  There are many historical references in this story - the story of Vanni( the marriage between Sinhalese and Madurai King's daughter marriage gift of 60 Vanniyars), the story of Pandara Vanniyan and Titus Lemuel etc.The author beautifully plays with the words, he makes and remakes scenes and some times its puzzling but one cannot easily come out of it- that's his strength.For me this novel talks not about freedom struggle or racism but about humanity - the value of human life.

Great read..!!