Translated by Janani Kannan — Book Review
It is amazing how the story, of a young farmer Muttu who went in search of land, leaving his village where he was born and brought up, behind, resonated with me so well.
His struggle, on doubting whether he will be able to find his dream ‘land’, and if he does will the resident villagers let him buy it, if everything falls into place will the villagers be cooperative and let him cultivate and build a simple life for himself and his family? These and many thoughts bombard Mutthu’s mind throughout his journey. Until one day, when he finally finds land and buys it.
Though the situation is very different, I could still feel the hesitation, and the uncertainties, which Muttu had about his future as it resonated with my current scenario. Wherein I was juggling between leaving my old job for a new one and had uncertainties about whether I would be able to adjust to the new surroundings or am I wrong in deciding to switch. The beauty of this simple story is its depth and its relatability. On the surface, Muttu’s struggle feels so simple but if we dig deep there is so much to comprehend, so much to learn.
Sometimes life throws you off guard when your people deceive you and the only thing that is left is starting afresh somewhere else. During this period the only thing that we can do is stay calm and learn from every situation. Muthu learnt from the past by pondering over it and the present by accepting the situation and from people around him be it his servant Kalli, Peruma’s Paati or his daughter Rosa.
I’ve always admired Perumal Murugan’s novel which seems simple yet there is a lot of depth in the story. And the characters are so relatable. The only thing that bugs me in the book is the ending. Yes, we know Muthu finally figured out how to live life on his own but what happens to Paati? Did Peruma come to live with him? This is what is left for us to figure out. I know the author always leaves us with an open ending and I too am not a great fan of a closed-end, lately, but still, there should have been some clue on what happened later.
Well, I must say this book reaffirmed as to why I love reading so much.
