Book Review

Temple hypocrisy and horror of war

S. Rameswaran's latest novel portrays contemporary Hindu society. The author, himself a Hindu, exposes the hypocritical nature of the trustees of Hindu temples against the backdrop of the on-going war. By developing plots, consistent with how the theatre of this senseless war is being operated, he poses challenges to the temple trustees and local self-styled "religious bigwigs."

In doing so, he shows how ignorant the trustees are of the finer doctrines of Hinduism ingrained in the scriptures - the care of the sick, old, poor and the needy. If Hinduism has any universal message, it is that all living beings are children of God, and that God's own creation the land, air, fire, water and space are meant to be equitably shared by all.

The Brahmanical dominance has led to a sickening belief that the benefits of Hinduism lie only in the chanting of mantras by the Brahmin priests in Sanskrit, a language not understood by even one percent of the Hindus. The whole of religious practice is commercialised with a fee being paid to the Brahmin priest for acting as a "broker" between the devotee and God.

The author portrays the indiscriminate bombing of an imagined village of Sivapuram which is situated in the typical agro-based community life of the Kilinochchi District. Houses are reduced to debris, and ashes. People flock to Alady Pillayer Temple, the local school and St. Anthony's Church. The internally displaced people who congregate at St. Anthony's Church, mostly Christians, are well looked after by Rev. Fr. Emerson, and his assistants. Those with babies are given milk too. At the Alady Pillayar Temple and school, people are starving and children cry for milk.

He introduces four characters - Murugiah, a sub-post master, a typical arrogant local devotee, Sellathurai the die-hard unrelenting temple trustee, Sunderalingam the Grama Sevaka and Nathan the rebellious young Hindu. He contrasts their actions with the humanitarian services of Rev. Fr. Emerson at St. Anthony's church. Annammah, a typical rural woman introduced as Nathan's mother, is shown as one who is able to discern the humanitarian services at the Church from the inhuman conduct of the Temple Trustee.

The author uses rural dialects and on the whole, the language is simple and expressive. Each chapter follows in a neatly spun sequence exposing simultaneously the horrors of the war and the lack of meaningful infrastructure in Hindu society to meet the challenges thrown up by the war.

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