Global Gaon Ke Devta

by Ranendra

"ग्लोबल गाँव के देवता - कथाकार रणेन्द्र का उपन्यास 'ग्लोबल गाँव के देवता' वस्तुतः आदिवासियों वनवासियों के जीवन का सन्तप्त सारांश है। शताब्दियों से संस्कृति और सभ्यता की पता नहीं किस छन्नी से छन कर अवशिष्ट के रूप में जीवित रहने वाले असुर समुदाय की गाथा पूरी प्रामाणिकता व संवेदनशीलता के साथ रणेन्द्र ने लिखी है। 'अनन्य' और 'अन्य' का विभाजन करनेवाली मानसिकता जाने कब से हावी है। आग और धातु की खोज करनेवाली, धातु पिघलाकर उसे आकार देनेवाली कारीगर असुर जाति को सभ्यता, संस्कृति, मिथक और मनुष्यता सबने मारा है। रणेन्द्र प्रश्न उठाते हैं, 'बदहाल ज़िन्दगी गुज़ारती संस्कृतिविहीन, भाषाविहीन, साहित्यविहीन, धर्मविहीन। शायद मुख्यधारा पूरा निगल जाने में ही विश्वास करती है... छाती ठोंक-ठोंककर अपने को अत्यन्त सहिष्णु और उदार कहनेवाली हिन्दुस्तानी संस्कृति ने असुरों के लिए इतनी भी जगह नहीं छोड़ी थी। वे उनके लिए बस मिथकों में शेष थे। कोई साहित्य नहीं, कोई इतिहास नहीं, कोई अजायबघर नहीं। विनाश की कहानियों के कहीं कोई संकेत मात्र भी नहीं।' 'ग्लोबल गाँव के देवता' असुर समुदाय के अनवरत जीवन संघर्ष का दस्तावेज़ है। देवराज इन्द्र से लेकर ग्लोबल गाँव के व्यापारियों तक फैली शोषण की प्रक्रिया को रणेन्द्र उजागर कर सके हैं। हाशिये के मनुष्यों का सुख-दुख व्यक्त करता यह उपन्यास झारखण्ड की धरती से उपजी महत्त्वपूर्ण रचना है। असुरों की अपराजेय जिजीविषा और लोलुप-लुटेरी टोली की दुरभिसन्धियों का हृदयग्राही चित्रण।"

100 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Born from fire, once an iron-smelting people fed on molten steel, they too, had turned into steel."

Short novel.
Short chapters.

The story started as some dilemma for our main character as he's been allotted a job to teach tribal girls in a very far-off village.

It deals with superstitions and beliefs of the people belonging to different communities, the struggles and the suffering of the tribal people living in difficult areas, assumptions and misconceptions on such communities, discrimination and ill-treatment towards people belonging to such particular communities, the rampant flesh trade of young girls, the sorry state of the education system and the services available to them.

The writing is really good. It made up for the various characters that are involved for the plot. It's pretty convincing.

The characters are well-written with a touch of genuineness and unpredictability in their parts.

The plot is pretty straightforward. It's simplicity made it stand out.

The arguments are valid and needs to be discussed more. The plot touched several themes which are mentioned at the beginning as well as various other themes such as the failed political system, the corrupted officials, nepotism, manipulation of the various systems for selfish means have been brought up quite methodically.

Warnings for some graphic scenes regarding sacrificial rituals, murder, cruelty and violence. The gender mistreatment towards women and girls is quite alarming.

I appreciate the mention of some strong willed women (Satyabhama and Shaura, Irom Sharmila, C.K. Janu, Surekha Devi) who fought for a cause choosing nonviolence.

The ending is so satisfying!

[Tejaswini · Rating 4 out of 5]

We often hear about Asurs in our mythologies , legends & folklores. We even celebrate their deaths as festivals of lights & colours! But do we ever think about their lineage? Do we ever give a thought about Asurs existence out of those stories on this earth? Yes! the clan named 'Asurs' dwell even today on the various plateaus of the Jharkhand state. Much opposite to their ancestors who were said to be giant & rebilious, the Asurs live a normal & minimalistic tribal life smelting metal into spears & spades. Aeons passed by, those were the days where Asurs were killed by lords of heaven, now Asurs are being massacred by mortal global lords stomping their size from few hundred lakhs to mere thousands. Who seems to care ? After all they are 'Asurs' : born to be killed by 'god'. Who asked the deatils? Whether that god is mortal or immortal!?

Master Sahib, our unnamed narrator is posted to Bhaunrapaat, Barwe district in Kolbeigha block (which belongs to present Jharkhand state) as a teacher to a girls' residential school. Those sorroundings are predominantly ocppupied by Asur community. He goes to that remote forest tribal area with a premonition to return with an immediate transfer. But eventually the Asur people, their revere & respect towards him, their innocent superstitions & unblemished souls bind him more than his kith & kin. The ways of their living makes him wonder & question the stories of cruel & man eating Asurs he had been listening to since his childhood.

Written originally in Hindi as 'Global gaav ke Devtha' by Ranendra is an eye opening plight of many tribal communities evanescencing into oblivion within a twitch of an eye. Their lands are being encroached by illegal bauxite miners thanks to globalisation & its glorious 'after effects'. Hundreds of acres are digged & mined; the exacavations were never filled back; neither the Asurs were rehabilitated as ensured. The ditches turned drainage dumps during seasonal rains bring them chronic cerebral diseases in plenty never restoring their heaths back to normal.

From eyes of the narrator, the author makes a reader witness how political & administrative powers are rused taking the advantage of their illateracy & ignorance. The so called political lords & bureaucratic deities grow plump feeding on the blood & flesh of these tribals. The author has drawn an interesting line of similarity between the atrocities faced by Native Americans to that of Asurs in India.

Asurs whose veins according to their legends, flow with liquid metal instead of blood seems to be the only reason of stringent resistance to the harsh audacities till date. With brilliant translation, the story of an entire clan clinging onto the verge of extinction not only becomes becomes but also an informative & important read.

[Ankit Bhardwaj · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prose reaches heights, however, there was something about this book that kept me from completely being drawn in. There are passages here that are stunning, especially those that make stark the historical persistence of violence of this form, and the difference in world views and scale of existence between those in conflict. Here is a short glimpse:

"Normally, when the high-flying gods watch the minerals, jungles and other resources of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Prades or Jharkhand from their sky routes, or through the lenses of satellites, they are confident this is their personal property. They know well that they are the nation-state and therefore, its resources belong only to them"

The components of the book are strong. Ranendra-ji weaves a tale of global resource extraction, historical and global nature of the injustice - as a function of age-old colonial values, which Ranendra-ji explores in his frequent comparisons with stories of atrocities to the First Nations - bureuacratic corruption and complicity in the violence, inter-caste war, intra-community conflicts, and the astonishing resolve of women and children. However, where these accumulated and slowly built into a crashing climax, the tension of the novel is frequently released. At almost every turn of the page, there was an instance of violence, an age-old violence, that Ranendra-ji showed.

This makes the task of writing a novel on these themes difficult. How does one show both the everyday violences and how they slowly accumulate to catastrophic events. As the latter was written in the same beat as the everyday - this feels like a stylistic choice. The catastrophic is the same as the everyday - a position I am sympathetic too, but also one that reduces the poignancy of the text. An example of a strcuture that works is perhaps The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke with its use of the uncanny to hint at the everyday violence and build to a crescendo which made it so memorable.

It is a short read, and worth a read if you are concerned with the violence in areas rendered as hinterlands. I am hoping for more voices to explore this front of the world in coming years.

[Sarthak Mohanty · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Stories are always told by victors, not vanquished.'

Is it their Lord Singbonga or Sarna Maai? Or Mahadeva? Or their ancestor, Mahishasura? Who will come to their rescue when they are subjected to the wrath of the 'Lords of the global village'?

Master Sahib, after a long term of unemployment, finally lands in the position of a science teacher at PTG Girls' Residential School in the tribal, hilly village of Bhaunrapaat, Jharkhand, inhabited by the dreaded Asurs (Or that's what he thinks). To his utter shock, Master sahib finds out that the Asurs at the Paat weren't the dark-skinned giants with horns, fangs & claws, rather, just a simple & peaceful tribe of humans who considered themselves as the descendants of Mahishasura & were trying to survive against mountainous odds. Asurs have been a race of iron smelters who've had to leave their primary occupation due to advent of factories and industries. As time passes by(well, not so smoothly), he realises that Asurs are & have been subjected to oppression for ages. There wasn't a recorded history of their lineage or tradition. They were considered beings of myths, devilish in nature who were vanquished by Gods of the ancient times. They were struggling for survival, faced against the modern day Gods. From bauxite miners to fraudulent Babas, from evil landlords to administration, the nature worshipping, humble Asurs were being systematically persecuted by everyone.

Will they survive? If the do, what will be the price to pay? Who are the modern day Gods and what are their motives? 'Lords of the global village' is the tale of Asur tribe, their unspeakable misery, struggle to hold on to their identity & save themselves from extinction.

Author Ranendra's fictional work, translated into English by Rajesh Kumar, is inspired by real life events. Impressive vocabulary, nearly flawless narrative, insightful and vivid representation are the key factors here. The pace although seems a bit wobbly which is confusing. Sometimes it's slow and easy going whereas on some occasions it's moving too fast. Otherwise, full marks for the in depth research and the kind of impact this book has left on me. A one of it's kind book which needs to be recognised!! 💯❤️

[Nilay · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an ideal world, this would have been an important book on a very important topic - the heart wrenching plight of aboriginal inhabitants across the world. This book talks about one such tribe called the "Asurs" who are mostly limited to some areas in Jharkhand and Chattisgarh in India or call it the Chota Nagpur belt if you will. While doing so, it also talks a bit about some more such stories from across India, USA and South America which kindles enough fire for you to read about them in more detail once you are done with the book. This in itself, is a great point of admiration for any book.

Let me come back to the book now. It is originally written in Hindi and this was an English translation. The storyline is fast paced and hence this is a quick read. I couldn't find anything spectacular about the prose, the plot makes the book what it is. Perhaps the original Hindi version might be a better written work, I don't know. The characters are quite relatable and it is easy to strike a connection with all of them which makes it easy to understand their struggles. The book clearly explains the origins, a brief history and the current situation of the Asur tribe. However, the same is true for all the aborigine tribes across the world.

This is an important book because this is a part of history that no one will teach us in schools and this is the current situation of these people for which we are all responsible in a way but we don't even acknowledge it. In fact, I think this massively underrated book might still have had 100x the attention compared to the topic it is based on.

[Divya · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

The lives of the marginalized, their struggles against "lords of the global village", repeated throughout history, across centuries and continents, the uncountable deaths in the fight for justice and respect. This book tells the story of such a community in Jharkhand, a reflection of reality, of the greed of corporations and governments for land land and more land. In the place of the fallen, new strength will rise. Well-written in simple language.

[Jayanthi Ramesh]

A powerful read of the tribal people and their struggle against the corporates.

[Zuicy Beauty Akoijam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The word "Asur" reminds you of two things. One is stories of giants, demons and fiends heard during one's childhood. Ten to 12 feet tall. Protruding teeth. An assortment of weapons in their hands....The other is the photographs of loincloth wearing Asur men and bare-breasted women in the 1926,1946 and 1966 anthropology books." - Lords Of The Global Village - Ranendra.

The above prejudice is set in the minds of common folks when the word Asur is mentioned and the narrator of 'Lords Of The Global Village' is also not an exception to it.
The narrator, Master Sahib, after long period of unemployment is granted a job, but isn’t sure whether that should send him into “the throes of ecstasy” or whether it should “depress him" because his location for the job is in rural Jharkhand where the tribe ASUR INHABIT- this is how the book opens.

The book traces how contrary to the narrator's stereotypes, he ends up growing so fond of the region and the people. The book further goes deeper with the narrator learning about the Asur community, it's history, culture and demystifying many myths surrounding them. He comes to comprehend that “in the ancient Assyrian-Babylonian civilisation, ‘Asur’ meant ‘a strong man’ and that around 150 shlokas in the Rigveda treat the Asurs as gods. Later on the meaning shifted and the Asurs began to be equated with demons."

The book also is about how hungry mine owners who see land resources as their personal property and the nexus between big corporates and politics has threatened the very existence of Asur, plugged off from their basic sustenance and thus pushing them into the periphery of poverty and hunger.
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The author intermixes with abundantly rich characters which therefore sometimes makes it difficult to connect with any one of them. The story telling being not at its finest, was a bit struggling to keep pace at the beginning.

Ranendra, however, in this very short read has managed to capture the lives and the deprivation the Asur has to undergo in the face of the 'Global Deities' - a voice rarely heard.

[Shubhaangi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to acquaint oneself with the lives of Indian tribals. An evocative description of everyday violence and how it snowballs into catastrophes for the natives. Haunting, gut wrenching and needless to say a very important text which needs to be read.

[Vijaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Normally, when the high-flying gods watch the minerals, jungles and other resources of Chattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh or Jharkhand from their sky routes or through the lens of satellites, they are confident that this is their personal property. They know well that they are the nation-state and therefore, its resources belong only to them. Naturally when they see the loincloth-clothed Asur-Birijia, Oraon and Munda tribals, Dalits and Sadaans around the mineral resources and the jungles, they get irritated, and grow impatient to exterminate the insects-to begin Operation Mop-up."
~lords of the global village.

The narrator of the story is a school teacher posted in a school for tribal girls in rural Jharkhand. From wanting a transfer to a different location to helping people from Asur tribe in their fight against mining lords, Master Sahib's life transforms when he understands the plights of people living in a bauxite rich plateau. The book originally written in Hindi by Ranendra and translated to English by Rajesh Kumar is very relevent to the present times and can be a great introduction to understanding the impact of privatization of mines on socio-economic status of indigenous communities.