Off late, I have read works of some celebrated author's like- Amish Tripathi, Ashwin Sanghi, Neel Mukherjee, Arvind Adiga, and the like. "Age of Frenzy" by a lesser-known regional author Mahabaleshwar Sail, somehow stood apart from all these and it was like finding a precious pearl from an oyster deep in the ocean. This novel is the English translation of the original Konkani novel "Yug Sanwar", and is fiction based on historical facts.
Set in 16th century Goa, the Portuguese referred to as "the white demons from across the seven seas" by the locals, defeated Adil Shah and have taken over the reins in the region. This is a story in a fictitious Goan village called Adolshi where life goes as usual- people who are driven by traditions and rituals, worship Gods to please the well-being of the village, believe that the "Gramdev" (God of the land) protects the land, some families practice 'sati' (forcing widows into the pyres of their dead husbands), the Devli community who takes care of the temples and dance during the festivals are left to rot when found dead as touching them is believed to be a sin and many more superstitions. The caste system and diet compulsions and people treated as outcasts if a lump of particular meat is found in the premise benefited the vested interest of the new rulers- the Portuguese who wanted to convert the village into a Christian one. The King of Portugal declares the Goa Inquisition and people are coerced to convert to Christianity or burnt to death tied to a stake.
However, there is one missionary Padre (priest) Simao Peres who is sent to Goa from Spain by the Pope to spread the teachings of Jesus. He believes in 'the true teachings' of Christianity- which talks about love, compassion, and forgiveness, and doesn't really agree with the forceful methods adopted by the Portuguese. The story progresses with various episodes into the lives of many families of Adolshi, their tragedies, and a few turn of shocking events like the father killing his own son because he accepts the Christian faith, mob justice of a person suspected to be a traitor, and burnt to death, rapes, suicides and helpless and fearful people who just believe that the God of the land will save them instead of revolting. It also shows how many households moved out of Goa to save their faith and the Gods, the situation painfully described as "severing of the umbilical ties".
The story really takes you through the horrors that the people of Goa must have gone through at that time. The beauty of the author's writing style is that the narrative at no point looks judgemental or biased towards any particular faith in question. He just states the reality and it's up to the reader to judge right or wrong. Be it the discrimination within the castes, the lack of unity, the coercive and threatening conversions, the torture in the name of punishment, or Padre Simao talking about the real teachings of the Bible. It's highly balanced and the dark realities of both sides have been depicted well. Due credit to the English translator Ms. Vidhya Pai for retaining the sanctity of the writing.
As I was reading, I wondered how this novel is going to end. And as I reached the final pages, the horrors got worse and reading through the pages got even more painful. The story ends tragically no doubt, but not without leaving the reader with a long-lasting hangover.
The book also includes appendices where the translator shares her experiences and thoughts about this masterpiece, followed by an interview with the Author taken by the translator, and finally the difficulty they both had to go through to get this published. It is sad to learn that the publishers condensed the original 424-page tome to a 300-pager English translation. At the same time, I am glad that the publishers have agreed to publish this English translation so that such a little-known piece of art can reach a wider audience.
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