Treading a novel path

In the hands of a poet, history can come alive in a vivid, compelling and dramatic manner. Keki Daruwalla’s novel For Pepper and Christ is set against the history of the three Portuguese expeditions to India — two by Vasco da Gama and one by Cabral. The result of long and meticulous research, he started writing the novel in 1996, thinking he would finish it by 1998 (for the 500th anniversary of the Vasco voyage!) but the book was published 11 years later in 2009.

"The novel was sparked off by the ‘legend’ that the pilot who brought Vasco from Milind to Calicut, later indulged in self flagellation. This was told to me once in a casual conversation in London in the late ’80s when I was posted there as Minister Consular in the High Commission. I have never heard this story again,” conveys Daruwalla.

Keki Daruwalla: voyage of discovery

To explain his reasons for focusing on that era the author maintains, "It was a great period. The shadow of the crusades was still around. Christianity and Islam were in conflict as they are today — it’s another thing that certain fringe sections of Muslims are in conflict with everyone, Judaism, Christianity and Hinduism. It was a century infused with the spirit of the Renaissance, the spirit of discovery, voyaging.” According to his analysis, "They didn’t have conquest on their minds initially. Trade was uppermost on the minds of the Portuguese but conversion, the spread of Christianity and establishing contacts with ‘other’ Christian kingdoms” also drove them to venture out.

The novel is full of superbly etched characters. Daruwalla gives full reign to his imagination and creates very plausible characters who fill in the broad historical canvas. Particularly interesting was the character of Ehtesham. While unable to define the voyage of the creative process Daruwalla comments, "Characters have their own life — they develop on their own in fiction. Ehtesham’s character was developed, mainly to show the bias against painting figures. What befalls Ehtesham also reflects how the entire milieu conspires to pull the artist down. But his character develops essentially as a human being — he is central to the novel — a loveable character.”

Daruwalla’s technique of using multiple view points to create a complete and well balanced picture of the era works extremely effectively. He believes that as he is discussing two civilizations — both pretty dogmatic in those days and each considering the other the ‘infidel,’ there is no better way of showing diverging view points than through multiple voices.

When an author writes about a distant historical period, one is always curious to know if he sees any parallels between that period and the present to which Daruwalla affirmed that though there would always be a few parallels, his novel is not about disguise or allegory.

Keki (center) with daughters, son-in-laws and grandchildren. From left: Armin, Anaheita, Arshish and Rookzain Top: Late wife Khorshed

At a time when most Parsi novelists are describing the eccentricities and the foibles of the community, it seems as if Daruwalla has decided to consciously avoid writing about Parsi characters (in spite of making a keynote address on Parsi writing in a seminar in Rajkot in the 1990s). "I think Rohinton Mistry is the best Parsi novelist around, though I was disappointed with A Fine Balance; he is too hung up on the Emergency. I also thought Boman Desai’s first novel The Memory of Elephants was brilliant. Don’t worry — I will write a Parsi ghetto novel like the others one day!” But turning to poetry and drama he admits he is very fond of Adil Jussawala’s poetry which he finds very supple. "I am also a huge fan of Kersy Katrak and even wrote an article on him in The Hindu recently. I consider Gieve Patel a great all rounder — poet, playwright, painter, doctor — and firmly believe it an absolute shame that no one has ever thought of giving him a big national award. Hoshang Merchant is a good poet and a dedicated servant of the muse; however I wish he would write more about poetry than about homosexuality.”

(When asked his views on the community the former Delhi Parsi Anju­man trustee stated he "didn’t have definite views. I agree with the reformists,” he added. "We should open our doors.”)

Asserting his fiercely independent spirit Daruwalla states, "There are too many authors that I admire but if we are talking of fiction, I must make the point that none has influenced me. I have always felt it is necessary to guard myself against influence for fear that the quality of writing would become derivative. Yes, Borges influenced me once and I consider (Salman) Rushdie as one of the finest Indian novelists. Greene and Camus were also favorites but never influenced me.”

He has nevertheless written two poems which have been inspired by Camus’ work. "The Revolt of the Salt Slaves” in his first volume of poems, Under Orion, was inspired after reading a collection of Camus’ short stories Exile and the Kingdom. The second is "Mersault” who is the central character in Camus’ L’Étranger. This poem evokes memories of the character and the main events in the novel, whether it is the death of Mersault’s mother, the murder of the Arab or the visit of the priest while he is in prison. Particularly moving are the lines which succinctly summarize the character of Mersault: "He lived his life a certain way — upfront and with no disguise.” Daruwalla also has strong objections against influence even as far as poetry goes: "I have always admired Eliot, Auden, and Ritsos. I read along with Ritsos at Struga in 1985. I have done take offs on Cavafy poems. Akhmatova and Mandelstam are other great favorites.”

Daruwalla is no stranger to poetry. His father Nasserwanji, a professor of English, wrote and edited several books and even published some poems. As a child, Daruwalla could recite at great length from poems like Sir Walter Scott’s "The Lady of the Lake” and his early upbringing must have certainly contributed to making him one of India’s finest poets. After completing his Master of Arts, he served with the Indian Police Force and working in small towns in remote districts, "work became the only real companion...and...writing a compensation” as he confessed to Eunice DeSouza in an interview. He has won the Sahitya Academy Award in 1984 for The Keeper of the Dead and the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, Asia Region in 1987 for Landscapes.

Daruwalla had a very interesting career with the Indian Police Service from 1958 to 1963 and from 1968 to 1974. Many poems in his collection Under Orion, written in 1968, describe situations which seem to emerge from his experiences in the police force. In a haunting poem "Curfew in a Riot-torn City” Daruwalla uses extremely powerful imagery. The headlights of the police jeep "…rake the walls,/barracuda-eyes/searching for prey.” The town is "tumour-growth” and "The starch on your khaki back/turns soggy.”

"Apart from my first two poetry books, my career in the police had very little to do with my writing,” insists Daruwalla. "The first two poetry books were written under pressure and so a large amount of documentation figures in those books.” However, even when speaking about floods and pestilence and curfews which he must have encountered in his regular duties, it is always the imagination which persuasively and effectively takes over every situation transforming it into a very convincing piece of art.

Daruwalla has travelled very widely and not only Ranikhet, Mandwa and Chorhoti but also Spain, Helsinki and Oxford form the backdrop to several of his poems. "I do not stick to a single track but have a wide variety of interests and passions. My interest in and love for history is known.” This is evident from his poems as well as his shorter fiction which cover a wide range of themes. I have a particular preference for the "personal poems” like "Mother,” filled with forceful images of old age, memories and solitude, "Nurse and Sentinel,” which is a tribute to the care and concern his wife Khorshed showed for her ailing father and "Poem for a Granddaughter” in which he tried to convince the child not to fear the dark. However, an extremely effective and evocative poem is "Gujarat 2002.” Daruwalla very skillfully uses the rhyming couplets to bring out the shock and the revulsion of the Godhra riots. The poem ends on the following couplet which is used ironically to express the numbing horror of the entire episode:

"There is no place here for the lyre and the lute,

In such times is lockjaw the best — to be dumb, to be mute.”

In addition to being one of India’s most famous poets and now a successful novelist, Daruwalla has been busy over the last year writing two plays. "One of them is entitled Darius Codomannus —A Play in the Making. It’s about mostly Parsi characters who are about to stage a play on Darius III. It’s a play within a play on the subject of the Battle of Arbela; the play within the play is in poetry. I would like to see it performed before I try to have it published.”