Janani Kannan translated Aalandapatchi (originaly Tamil) to Fire Bird meaning a
mystical bird. It is a thought-provoking and beautifully written exploration of the
human desire for stability in an ever-changing world. Its poignant tale of a man seeking
permanence in a world where displacement is inevitable, Fire Bird’s protagonist
Marimuthu embarks on a journey in search of agricultural land after the shocking split
of his family’s farm. His quest for a place where he can establish a home for his newly-
formed nuclear family takes him to the Kongu region. Threading through this tale of
hope and sustenance is the perennial question about what unfolds in the lives of
individuals when their connection to the land is forcibly severed. This is particularly so
for a farmer. Its beautifully crafted tale of one man's search for the elusive concept of
permanence. Muthu has his world turned upside down when his father divides the
family land, leaving him with practically nothing and causing irreparable damage to his
family's bonds. Through the unscrupulous actions of his once-revered eldest brother,
Muthu is forced to leave his once-perfect world behind and seek out a new life for
himself, his wife and his children. In this transcendental novel, Perumal Murugan draws
from his own life experiences of displacement and movement, and explores the fragility
of our fundamental attraction to permanence and our ultimately futile efforts to attain
it. Translated from the nearly untranslatable Aalandapatchi, which alludes to a mystical
bird in Tamil, the titular fire bird perfectly encapsulates the illusory and migratory
nature of this pursuit.
As Marimuthu’s initial discontent transforms into a happiness rooted in liberation,
Murugan underscores the idea that life inherently involves instability and change and
that certainty is a mirage. He describes the futility of the pursuit of permanence,
pointing out that while the quest for everlasting stability may initially appear successful,
the truth is that growth comes through change. Only those within the confines of a coffin
truly settle; the living must embrace constant evolution. At some point, the readers are
cheering the protagonists on, willing them to succeed, vanquishing the evil or pettiness
that tries to cow them down.
Undoubtedly, it’s Murugan’s sheer mastery over his craft, though camouflaged by a
deceptively simple tone, that makes the reader experience immersive. The novel is a
portrayal of a crisis that emanates with changing power structures accompanied by the
withering of old feudal as well as traditional caste bondages. As we read the novel, in
many parts there is a sporadic bursting of fetish compassion which raises a ray of hope
for reclaiming humanity. But it doesn't take away the fact that there is a subtle but firm
undercurrent of systemic ascending scale of reverence and descending scale of
contempt. The societal structure it depicts is an old decaying as well as a decline of
traditional Indian society . It is a sneak peek into the class divide within the Shudra
community which Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd divides as upper shudras and lower shudras.
The journey gives a foray into the thoughts of Marimuthu who is travelling with his ati-
shudra multipronged helper. It slowly takes us to the backward linkages as to why this
quest had to be taken in the first place. The events and the images of Murugan are a
reflection of multiple social complexities at work. The son meta-preference is reflected
in Marimuthu, his brother's family as well as thoughts of other family members. With
the frameshifting slowly towards his close shot - his thoughts, the contradictions of
neoliberalism arise. The fragmentation of land, its division only among sons in a non-
democratic yet traditional way, has an effect on the conscience and consciousness of
brothers. One can gauge that in Marxian terms, this is a perfect reflection of the
economic base building up the superstructure of the feudal economy laden with
Gramscian cultural hegemony. In fact, it astonished me how the traditions, which dictate
the dialectics and modus-vivendi of relationships, appearing with an emotive touch of
blood and bonds since times immemorial, are used as means to maintain this feudal
setup. The economics is what triumph and kith-kin relations are unconsciously-
consciously centred around it.
But then one realizes how important and true it was when Ambedkar stated that
Gender operates via Caste and Caste is an enclosed Class. Multiple power hierarchies
are at play here. Patriarchy which was thought to be only the biological man-woman
binary enters a gendered realm in Murugan's novel. Land associated with feminine
fertility is now a bone of contention between the males of the family. It's means as well
as the end for establishing dominance. The novel debunks the myth of patriarchy only
affecting women but also shows its leviathan effect on males as per their hierarchies
within the family. Marimuthu's dilemmas that are reflected in the journey for the
searching the land opens up insights into communitarian ethics which are based on
caste(s) and regional consciousness. This is excellently portrayed in episodes where
dialects, habits and customs are insights into everyday practices of the community. The
translation by Janani Kannan is excellent. In an episode Marimuthu's daughter calls him
'Daddy'; an anglicised version of father in this social setup is a rare event and a
background of symbiotic Tamil-English relationship. It also provides a glimpse of rising
new modernity which is challenging the traditional system and has as a matter of fact
put it under immense stress. But the translation gives a feel to a person like me who is
not well versed in Tamil and a taste of changing subaltern dialects as Marimuthu moves
to the East within the Kongunadu region. The portrayal of local cuisines, the labouring
sub-castes as per sanctioned shastras, the crisis of the agriculture community
sharpening the upper Shudra and lower shudra distinction reaches a non-Tamilian with
Tamil consciousness.
All that said, in this tale of ambivalence, it is Peruma, Muthu’s wife, who turns out to be
the titular firebird or alandapatchi. Carrying an unwavering commitment to her own
sense of self, she implores her husband to leave immediately so as to ensure their pride
is not hurt anymore. In the end, Murugan might have written Muthu as his protagonist,
but it is Peruma who comes across as the more impressive character. Murugan gives us
a tight narrative, a memorable love story and a truly unforgettable ending. It is one of
those books that will forever haunt, especially the the dramatically chilling end. It’s
translated with elegance and beautifully brings out typical problems faced by rural
societies.
Pick up this book on a day when you feel that you have been dealt a bad hand. It’s a
treasure waiting to be discovered.
