Book review: 'A garden in the wasteland'

A Gardener In The Wasteland
Srividya Natarajan Art: Aparajita Ninan
Navayana
118 pages
Rs220

The cover of A Gardener In The Wasteland shows Jotirao Govindrao Phule, his wife Savitribai, a rakshasa as commonly depicted in comics, and a Sudra man.

All of them have their mouths zipped shut. But the zip is parting open, and Phule is the one starting it all. This fierce 19th-century social reformer challenged notions of Brahminical superiority much before the more famous Dr BR Ambedkar arrived on the scene. In A Gardener In The Wasteland, Phule, Savitribai, the rakshasa and the Sudra offer an alternate worldview to what is usually accepted as absolute truth.

The graphic novel first presents the setting in which Phule carried out his campaign. He was of the belief that society’s uncritical view of Hindu mythology had allowed caste system to flourish. In Phule’s time, Sudras and Ati-sudras (both considered untouchable according to the Hindu caste system) were subjected to virtual slavery by the upper castes, and the notion of equality was nowhere in sight. To break the established pattern, Phule mocked the Hindu belief system and presented his own interpretation of its mythology. Using Savitribai, this is how A Gardener...  explains Phule’s mission: “We need a blueprint for change, for human equality, for a society in which all human beings enjoy the same rights. Naturally, Jotiba isn’t looking for this blueprint in the Hindu shastras.”

According to Hindu mythology, the first Brahmins were born from the mouth of Brahma, Kshatriyas from his arms, Vaisyas from the groin and Sudras from the legs. “Now tell me, is there any written evidence that Brahma’s mouth, which gave birth to Brahmans, menstruated every month, and that he had to sit in seclusion for four days?” asks Phule in one of the frames. He also presents an alternate view of the ten avatars of Vishnu, in which each avatar is an Aryan chieftain who deviously defeats a worthy, indigenous king. For instance, Vamana is a Brahmin who waged war against Bali, a non-Brahmin, and ended Bali’s benevolent rule.

Phule then directed his ire towards the nationalist leaders of the time who wanted Indian society to rise up against the British, but stalled reforms in the name of protecting “our ancient customs and traditions”. He and Savitribai refused to side with the nationalists and instead strove to provide education to girls and the lower caste as they felt this was the only way these strata of society could attain freedom from slavery. This led to the formation of the Satyashodak Samaj, to which the couple dedicated their lives.

At first, Phule’s scathing attack of Hindu mythology may seem jarring — it’s an attack on what are, essentially, stories and are hardly meant to be taken literally. However, to this day, a large part of Indian society views mythology almost as though it’s history. In 1873, when Phule wrote his book Gulamgiri, these beliefs would have been even more deeply rooted and strongly held.

While it is easy to dismiss Phule’s tone as shrill, it is less easy to ignore that the mythology we have been fed may have been propaganda to justify oppression on women and the lower castes, whether or not that was the intention of the long-forgotten authors. In that case, isn’t it better to expose ourselves to multiple views? Gulamgiri is an important book for this reason. And A Gardener... does a great job of introducing us to it.

It is interesting how Aparajita Ninan has illustrated the story. Brahmins are fat, hairy, with huge moustaches, with looks of disdain on their faces — much like the rakshasas in Amar Chitra Katha comics. The part where Phule dismisses the Vishnu avatars is a treat. Vamana wearing Nike shoes as he takes his three steps is a funny touch indeed.  

The narrative flows smoothly in A Gardener.... Srividya Natrajan has done a great job of drawing parallels between Sudras in India and the Blacks in America, between Brahmins in India and the Ku Klux Klan in the American south. However, there are times when the transitions from Phule’s words to the author’s perspective seem jarring. For instance, when Phule is being critical of nationalist leaders, one frame shows Mahatma Gandhi with his slogan of Ram Rajya. Gandhi came back to India in 1915, long after Phule had passed away in 1890.

For most of the part, the graphic novel is faithful to history and presents Phule’s worldview. Chances are, his ideas will push you out of your comfort zone, especially if you have grown up listening to stories from Indian mythology. And that is precisely the reason you should pick up A Gardener In The Wasteland.