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Swarga
Two lost souls retreat from the inhumanity of urban life in 1990s India, deciding to shed their names and become hermits in a remote forest abode, living among animals and planting trees. However, they soon discover that the serenity that surrounds them is deceptive – that the land and the people around them are slowly succumbing to a slow poisoning. Man and Woman realize that they must re-enter the world of humanity and join the struggle against the corporations and governments turning paradise into hell. Moving from myth to history and back again, Swarga is the tale of the early days of the people’s epic struggle against endosulfan-spraying in north Kerala.
- GenresEnvironment
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 10, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 28, 2017
In the early 1950s, an insecticide and pesticide named endosulfan was developed. For nearly half a century, it was used across the world, sprayed on various crops to get rid of everything from aphids to leafhoppers—but, in the same duration, people living in areas that had been subjected to endosulfan spraying began to experience the side effects of the pesticide. Dizziness, convulsions, skin diseases. Far more horrifying, reproductive and developmental issues. Permanent brain damage. Deformed babies, congenital illnesses.
Today, in over eighty countries, endosulfan is banned. India and China are among the countries where it is still used, though the Indian government has promised to phase out the use of the lethal chemical by this year. One of the major protest movements that led to this decision was that which erupted in Kasaragod District of Kerala in 2011, where the Plantation Corporation of Kerala had been, since the late 1970s, aerially spraying thousands of acres of cashew plantations with endosulfan.
Ambikasutan Mangad’s Swarga (originally published in Malayalam as Enmakaje, after the Kasaragod village that became the hub of the anti-endosulfan agitation) is about the horror wrought by endosulfan. The heartbreakingly stunted children and deformed calves, the children with grey hair and blank minds, the sores that never stop running. The four or five deaths every week, each a result of the endosulfan that has made its way into every stream, every pool, in Enmakaje.
The two central characters of Swarga are a man named Neelakantan and the woman he lives with, Devayani. He was once a journalist, a man who cared for those rejected by society: dying lepers, abused prostitutes, abandoned and ill people. She was once a prostitute whom he had looked after and brought back to life from near-death. Together, Neelakantan and Devayani came to the conclusion that life in the midst of society was meaningless, so they uprooted themselves and came away to the wilderness. To a place named Swarga, ‘heaven’, in Enmakaje. There, discarding even the trappings of names and becoming just Man and Woman, they made a tree house—and did not live happily ever after, for one day, the outside world intruded, bringing with it endosulfan.
Swarga is one of those rare novels that makes a very lucid, factual point about environmental degradation and political corruption, while also being almost magical in its metaphors and its mythology. The Tulu people and their reverence for the Jadadhari Hill. The tale of Mahabali, the austerities of the Balakhilyas. The connection, deep and intrinsic, between man and nature, between man’s deities and nature’s wonders.
This is what makes Ambikasutan Mangad’s book such a deeply disturbing, unforgettable work: because it shows what man’s relationship with nature can be, and what it actually is, far too often. For commercial gains, and with complete disregard for not just nature but for the rest of the human race too, people go their own way, wantonly destroying. How long will Nature tolerate this, asks the book in an inspired climax.
This is a book that combines, intriguingly, some very varied styles of storytelling: the lyrical, steeped-in-mysticism lore of the people of Enmakaje; the heart wrenching plight of the victims of endosulfan; the brutally selfish and corrupt nexus between politics and business that suppresses all dissension. Mangad's skill lies in letting each aspect of his story be impactful on its own, and yet melding perfectly with the others.
(From my review for The New Indian Express: https://www.pressreader.com/india/sun...)
Today, in over eighty countries, endosulfan is banned. India and China are among the countries where it is still used, though the Indian government has promised to phase out the use of the lethal chemical by this year. One of the major protest movements that led to this decision was that which erupted in Kasaragod District of Kerala in 2011, where the Plantation Corporation of Kerala had been, since the late 1970s, aerially spraying thousands of acres of cashew plantations with endosulfan.
Ambikasutan Mangad’s Swarga (originally published in Malayalam as Enmakaje, after the Kasaragod village that became the hub of the anti-endosulfan agitation) is about the horror wrought by endosulfan. The heartbreakingly stunted children and deformed calves, the children with grey hair and blank minds, the sores that never stop running. The four or five deaths every week, each a result of the endosulfan that has made its way into every stream, every pool, in Enmakaje.
The two central characters of Swarga are a man named Neelakantan and the woman he lives with, Devayani. He was once a journalist, a man who cared for those rejected by society: dying lepers, abused prostitutes, abandoned and ill people. She was once a prostitute whom he had looked after and brought back to life from near-death. Together, Neelakantan and Devayani came to the conclusion that life in the midst of society was meaningless, so they uprooted themselves and came away to the wilderness. To a place named Swarga, ‘heaven’, in Enmakaje. There, discarding even the trappings of names and becoming just Man and Woman, they made a tree house—and did not live happily ever after, for one day, the outside world intruded, bringing with it endosulfan.
Swarga is one of those rare novels that makes a very lucid, factual point about environmental degradation and political corruption, while also being almost magical in its metaphors and its mythology. The Tulu people and their reverence for the Jadadhari Hill. The tale of Mahabali, the austerities of the Balakhilyas. The connection, deep and intrinsic, between man and nature, between man’s deities and nature’s wonders.
This is what makes Ambikasutan Mangad’s book such a deeply disturbing, unforgettable work: because it shows what man’s relationship with nature can be, and what it actually is, far too often. For commercial gains, and with complete disregard for not just nature but for the rest of the human race too, people go their own way, wantonly destroying. How long will Nature tolerate this, asks the book in an inspired climax.
This is a book that combines, intriguingly, some very varied styles of storytelling: the lyrical, steeped-in-mysticism lore of the people of Enmakaje; the heart wrenching plight of the victims of endosulfan; the brutally selfish and corrupt nexus between politics and business that suppresses all dissension. Mangad's skill lies in letting each aspect of his story be impactful on its own, and yet melding perfectly with the others.
(From my review for The New Indian Express: https://www.pressreader.com/india/sun...)
September 1, 2018
3.5/5 more like.
Steeped in mythology, of Bali being eased out of his kingdom, and his return, not during Onam, but during Balipadyami, cos this is Kasargod, where the Tulu and Kannada speaking people have their own traditions. Traditions mix and match here, between the Marathi Naiks, the Malayalis, the Tulu speakers, the Shettys and the Brahmin Bhats. Kannada, Malayalam, Tulu mix and create a heady civilisation with its different customs, Bhootas, sacred groves. It is Western Ghats nature at its finest.
Until Endosulfan comes along. There is poison in the water, in the air, and eventually even in the breast milk that children are fed. 176 ppm in the breast milk they find. The safe limit? 0.18 ppm in water. Children grow to the size of 1 or 2 yr olds at the age of 7 and 8. Any older and end they end up with mental disabilities. Cows give birth to calves with 3 legs none of which live to adulthood. This is a land of disease, wasted.
There is the struggle to put an end to the menace, but there are lobbies for it. Think Glyphosate, think Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. There are no butterflies or bees in the forest. When rotten jackfruits fall there are no flies to hover around them. Even the cashew plantations in whose name the poison is sprayed are dying of the same cause. But the pesticides serve a bigger purpose - of exports and sales of one of the most reviled insecticides in the planet.
After 15 years of struggle, the pesticide was eventually banned in Kasaragod. Its use continues unabated in other states with its deaths and poisonings. Even when a global ban was moved against it, India tried to block it, eventually agreeing for a ban but asking for a 10 year remission.
After multiple protests, the Supreme Court finally banned it for good in 2011. I am not sure if it is still in use. Knowing how things work in India, it most likely is in use in large quantities.
There is also the story of the primordial Man and Woman, of Neelakantan and Devayani going to live in the forest away from humans, but entering the world back to fight endolsulfan. They eventually go back after being almost (?) killed by the "leader", a political figure who is also an industrialist who seems to have much to gain with keeping production up.
There are a lot of real characters who are mentioned who fought for the ban. Leela Kumari Amma, who also lost a leg after an "accident" after the first ban from the High Court, there isSunita Narain and Anil Aggarwal of CSE who have been at the forefront of many pesticide battles.
More reading:
Sunita Narain addressing a gathering after the final ban from the SC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffu6q...
Endosulfan:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endosulfan
A Guardian report, also about how deep the pockets of manufactures run inside the government:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentis...
Steeped in mythology, of Bali being eased out of his kingdom, and his return, not during Onam, but during Balipadyami, cos this is Kasargod, where the Tulu and Kannada speaking people have their own traditions. Traditions mix and match here, between the Marathi Naiks, the Malayalis, the Tulu speakers, the Shettys and the Brahmin Bhats. Kannada, Malayalam, Tulu mix and create a heady civilisation with its different customs, Bhootas, sacred groves. It is Western Ghats nature at its finest.
Until Endosulfan comes along. There is poison in the water, in the air, and eventually even in the breast milk that children are fed. 176 ppm in the breast milk they find. The safe limit? 0.18 ppm in water. Children grow to the size of 1 or 2 yr olds at the age of 7 and 8. Any older and end they end up with mental disabilities. Cows give birth to calves with 3 legs none of which live to adulthood. This is a land of disease, wasted.
There is the struggle to put an end to the menace, but there are lobbies for it. Think Glyphosate, think Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. There are no butterflies or bees in the forest. When rotten jackfruits fall there are no flies to hover around them. Even the cashew plantations in whose name the poison is sprayed are dying of the same cause. But the pesticides serve a bigger purpose - of exports and sales of one of the most reviled insecticides in the planet.
After 15 years of struggle, the pesticide was eventually banned in Kasaragod. Its use continues unabated in other states with its deaths and poisonings. Even when a global ban was moved against it, India tried to block it, eventually agreeing for a ban but asking for a 10 year remission.
After multiple protests, the Supreme Court finally banned it for good in 2011. I am not sure if it is still in use. Knowing how things work in India, it most likely is in use in large quantities.
There is also the story of the primordial Man and Woman, of Neelakantan and Devayani going to live in the forest away from humans, but entering the world back to fight endolsulfan. They eventually go back after being almost (?) killed by the "leader", a political figure who is also an industrialist who seems to have much to gain with keeping production up.
There are a lot of real characters who are mentioned who fought for the ban. Leela Kumari Amma, who also lost a leg after an "accident" after the first ban from the High Court, there isSunita Narain and Anil Aggarwal of CSE who have been at the forefront of many pesticide battles.
More reading:
Sunita Narain addressing a gathering after the final ban from the SC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffu6q...
Endosulfan:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endosulfan
A Guardian report, also about how deep the pockets of manufactures run inside the government:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentis...
April 6, 2017
Reading J. Devika's translation of Ambikasutan Mangad's Enmakaje and I realize I've been grossly unaware of Kerala's Enfosulfan nightmare. Reading about the deformities, you just end up sitting with your head bent in your palms. Humans only know destruction. Just that. Stranger still is the state's doling of a 500 crore package to more than 5000 people affected by this poison. Apparently for years of abuse, it only comes down to 5 lakhs per person per installment. Worse is how the government is still awaiting sanction of the next pay from the central government.
This book just leaves you miserable and devastated in its wake. I really wonder what the original is like. You can't fight the characterization, the plot, the language of some books. They aren't the sum of their form. They canvas a lifetime of pain and history that they can't even be treated as fiction anymore. They are much more than that. This is one such book.
This book just leaves you miserable and devastated in its wake. I really wonder what the original is like. You can't fight the characterization, the plot, the language of some books. They aren't the sum of their form. They canvas a lifetime of pain and history that they can't even be treated as fiction anymore. They are much more than that. This is one such book.
August 3, 2019
Swarga delves into the miseries of the people whose lives were devastated by the mindless and indiscriminate use of ‘Endosulfan’ pesticide used in Northern Kerala districts to control pests in Cashew plantations and boost huge profits for the corporate.
The story is set against the ventures of a man and a woman (Neelakantan and Devayani) who escape the trivialities of the mundane life and seek abode in ‘Swarga’ a small village, a treasure trove of nature amidst the Western Ghats. Their past was unpleasant which they vow to forget, and in order to take refuge in pristine unadulterated environment and thereby lead life in its natural way they decide to stay in the hills of Swarga. Their peace was disturbed by the arrival of a diseased orphaned child, which the woman decides to adopt - whom they later name 'Pareekshit'.
What follows was even more unpleasant. They see that Pareekshit is not alone in his maladies but every house has a case or two like him. The diseases surfaced after the start of aerial spray of endosulfan but the greedy government and its agents never acknowledge it. They also try and suppress any agitation initiated against the spray. Seeing the agony among the whole town, Neelakantan and Devayani resolve to get back to the humanity once again and fight against the corporate greed. The usual gimmicks of the powerful follow them in the form of political pressures, hooligans’ attack, police branding, public’s helplessness, etc.
Through their experiences, the author has portrayed how ‘God’s Own Country’ is no exception to the greed that plagues the world, and how even the innocent with almost no connection with the treasures also get affected. In fact, slowly but steadily she weaves us around the routine of the common people and how they are adversely affected, and also how they were not even allowed to realise what evil has struck them.
The story is set against the ventures of a man and a woman (Neelakantan and Devayani) who escape the trivialities of the mundane life and seek abode in ‘Swarga’ a small village, a treasure trove of nature amidst the Western Ghats. Their past was unpleasant which they vow to forget, and in order to take refuge in pristine unadulterated environment and thereby lead life in its natural way they decide to stay in the hills of Swarga. Their peace was disturbed by the arrival of a diseased orphaned child, which the woman decides to adopt - whom they later name 'Pareekshit'.
What follows was even more unpleasant. They see that Pareekshit is not alone in his maladies but every house has a case or two like him. The diseases surfaced after the start of aerial spray of endosulfan but the greedy government and its agents never acknowledge it. They also try and suppress any agitation initiated against the spray. Seeing the agony among the whole town, Neelakantan and Devayani resolve to get back to the humanity once again and fight against the corporate greed. The usual gimmicks of the powerful follow them in the form of political pressures, hooligans’ attack, police branding, public’s helplessness, etc.
Through their experiences, the author has portrayed how ‘God’s Own Country’ is no exception to the greed that plagues the world, and how even the innocent with almost no connection with the treasures also get affected. In fact, slowly but steadily she weaves us around the routine of the common people and how they are adversely affected, and also how they were not even allowed to realise what evil has struck them.
September 10, 2017
This book didn't work for me for 2 main reasons -
1. Juggernaut. The user interface is really bad, be it the app or the browser. No bookmark facility on either. I logged into the app after a while (and my progress was at 50% roughly) and when I opened the book it took me to the first chapter!! Wtf! So yeah, not reading anything else on Juggernaut till they actually make it an e-reader app.
2. The translation. The original is in Malayalam. And the story takes place on the Karnataka-Kerala border regions, so the characters speak a dialect of Malayalam that has a bit of Tulu or Kannada.. which is all good when the book is in Malayalam. What I don't get is why the English translation should try to capture it when it's virtually impossible to do so. 85% of the conversations in the book are like this -
"When Jayarajan laughed again, Panji said in a serious tone, ‘Don’ play aroun’ with the Serpent. Thi’ hill was full of them, all ove’, ev’rywher’. Bu’ they neve’ attacke’ any of us.’"
See what I mean? Dropping the last letter or arbitrarily ANY letter of most words seems to be the way to project the local dialect? How does that even work in English?!! Why even do that?! It's such a distraction while providing no uniqueness whatsoever to our experience. It just irritated me instead of giving a "local" feeling to the narration.
So I quit reading somewhere around the 60% mark. Or so I think because the effing app doesn't tell me anything anyway!
Waste of time. If you DO want to read it, try the original in Malayalam perhaps or at least the paperback in English. Not on Juggernaut.
1. Juggernaut. The user interface is really bad, be it the app or the browser. No bookmark facility on either. I logged into the app after a while (and my progress was at 50% roughly) and when I opened the book it took me to the first chapter!! Wtf! So yeah, not reading anything else on Juggernaut till they actually make it an e-reader app.
2. The translation. The original is in Malayalam. And the story takes place on the Karnataka-Kerala border regions, so the characters speak a dialect of Malayalam that has a bit of Tulu or Kannada.. which is all good when the book is in Malayalam. What I don't get is why the English translation should try to capture it when it's virtually impossible to do so. 85% of the conversations in the book are like this -
"When Jayarajan laughed again, Panji said in a serious tone, ‘Don’ play aroun’ with the Serpent. Thi’ hill was full of them, all ove’, ev’rywher’. Bu’ they neve’ attacke’ any of us.’"
See what I mean? Dropping the last letter or arbitrarily ANY letter of most words seems to be the way to project the local dialect? How does that even work in English?!! Why even do that?! It's such a distraction while providing no uniqueness whatsoever to our experience. It just irritated me instead of giving a "local" feeling to the narration.
So I quit reading somewhere around the 60% mark. Or so I think because the effing app doesn't tell me anything anyway!
Waste of time. If you DO want to read it, try the original in Malayalam perhaps or at least the paperback in English. Not on Juggernaut.
January 7, 2019
The power of literature lies in its ability to acquaint you with issues and happenings occurring around which one maybe oblivious to and this book does just that.
Swarga by Ambikasutan Mangad translated by J. Devika follows the story of Neelkantan and Devayani. Neelkantan is deeply perturbed by human sufferings from a young age. He gives up his high caste and leaves home. He builds a home with no window or door so that all can take refuge. It is in this way he meets Devayani whom he rescues from the brutality of humans. Neelkantan but is troubled as he feels he is not able to do much. So he and Devayani decide to leave and go to a place where they are far from humans and do not have to interact with them. It is in this way to come to live in Swarga. Here they lead an ascetic like existence but an act committed by Devayani makes them break this promise and come face to face with the reality of Swarga which contrary to its name might actually have the worst cases of human sufferings.
The background of this story is Kasaragod district in North Kerela. Here a high number of cases were seen of children suffering from mental illness and physical disorders. Infact almost all houses had a sick child. The villagers often attributed this to folklore and myth explaining that this is the anger of the Jaladhari god's. Today it is known that this happened due to the relentless aerial spraying of endosulfan on the cashew plantation for 20 years without following right measures. This resulted in water bodies being contaminated with endosulfan that resulted in biomagnification. Due to this, the region's biodiversity was completely destroyed and the worst casualty where the unborn children who due to genetic mutation suffered from physical disorders and mental illness as the mother's blood and milk had high endosulfan concentration. After a long battle the supreme court has banned the use of endosulfan but still, the fight continues as some states still use them.
This book in the most glaring way pinpoints how man's greed and corruption has led to the worst degradation of the environment and how our future generations are at risk.
This one is a must read.
Swarga by Ambikasutan Mangad translated by J. Devika follows the story of Neelkantan and Devayani. Neelkantan is deeply perturbed by human sufferings from a young age. He gives up his high caste and leaves home. He builds a home with no window or door so that all can take refuge. It is in this way he meets Devayani whom he rescues from the brutality of humans. Neelkantan but is troubled as he feels he is not able to do much. So he and Devayani decide to leave and go to a place where they are far from humans and do not have to interact with them. It is in this way to come to live in Swarga. Here they lead an ascetic like existence but an act committed by Devayani makes them break this promise and come face to face with the reality of Swarga which contrary to its name might actually have the worst cases of human sufferings.
The background of this story is Kasaragod district in North Kerela. Here a high number of cases were seen of children suffering from mental illness and physical disorders. Infact almost all houses had a sick child. The villagers often attributed this to folklore and myth explaining that this is the anger of the Jaladhari god's. Today it is known that this happened due to the relentless aerial spraying of endosulfan on the cashew plantation for 20 years without following right measures. This resulted in water bodies being contaminated with endosulfan that resulted in biomagnification. Due to this, the region's biodiversity was completely destroyed and the worst casualty where the unborn children who due to genetic mutation suffered from physical disorders and mental illness as the mother's blood and milk had high endosulfan concentration. After a long battle the supreme court has banned the use of endosulfan but still, the fight continues as some states still use them.
This book in the most glaring way pinpoints how man's greed and corruption has led to the worst degradation of the environment and how our future generations are at risk.
This one is a must read.
September 19, 2018
Every book is journey.So let me start with first thing first, that is reading of the blurb in the book cover and then the book cover itself.
Before reading blurb decode : Two mythical characters from many of Indian epics comes to live among the Humans and discover the havoc that is rained upon the Mother Nature by their endless selfish acts.
Before reading Book cover decode : Some cashew plants and insects because it has something to do with climate change.
Dear Readers / Wanna-be-readers,
Every preconceived notion you have about this book is shattered by the very first page of this book. If you have picked the book solely on keywords #mythical #ENDOSULFAN then you are in for a treasure. This story of Neelakandan and Devayani will take you through journey of completeness from their life after renunciation of past, discovery of "SWARGA" , their cavemen days and final realization of sufferings around them, then the question of " Are we living in Swarga (Heaven) or Narakka(Hell)?"
Let me point out to you couple of things i really loved in this book. Firstly it echoes many political happenings from Babri Masjid demolish , how easy it is for NGO's to get funding and to the extend of corruption in Governance. Secondly it takes occasional jibe at our own social contract ie, the very concept of marriage and its many flaws and makes us contemplate on gender neutrality that is ever vanishing from walks of our life. Thirdly how brilliantly he have given voice to inanimate things as "Mirror" and "cave" and the numerous versions of mythical stories of Maha bali that leaves you doubting "why did my grandma never told me about this humorous version of Mahabali?" Finally how beautifully the character of Neelakandan transform his morality with time, his atonement for all the evil's man had ever committed and his burning to elevate the sufferings brought by Endosulfan fills your heart.
MINI_REVIEW: A complete book in itself with element of non fiction, fiction, mythology, travelogue, political understandings, humor, environmental issues, and take on human relationship.
So before the last trumpet sounds for earth just as it had sounded years ago ( as endosufan which was Hiroshima sized bomb that impacted slowly with time we forgot) and recently ( as Kerala flood 2018) in South India , pick up this book to introspect if you are living in Heaven (Swarga) or Hell(Narakka).
Happy Reading!
Before reading blurb decode : Two mythical characters from many of Indian epics comes to live among the Humans and discover the havoc that is rained upon the Mother Nature by their endless selfish acts.
Before reading Book cover decode : Some cashew plants and insects because it has something to do with climate change.
Dear Readers / Wanna-be-readers,
Every preconceived notion you have about this book is shattered by the very first page of this book. If you have picked the book solely on keywords #mythical #ENDOSULFAN then you are in for a treasure. This story of Neelakandan and Devayani will take you through journey of completeness from their life after renunciation of past, discovery of "SWARGA" , their cavemen days and final realization of sufferings around them, then the question of " Are we living in Swarga (Heaven) or Narakka(Hell)?"
Let me point out to you couple of things i really loved in this book. Firstly it echoes many political happenings from Babri Masjid demolish , how easy it is for NGO's to get funding and to the extend of corruption in Governance. Secondly it takes occasional jibe at our own social contract ie, the very concept of marriage and its many flaws and makes us contemplate on gender neutrality that is ever vanishing from walks of our life. Thirdly how brilliantly he have given voice to inanimate things as "Mirror" and "cave" and the numerous versions of mythical stories of Maha bali that leaves you doubting "why did my grandma never told me about this humorous version of Mahabali?" Finally how beautifully the character of Neelakandan transform his morality with time, his atonement for all the evil's man had ever committed and his burning to elevate the sufferings brought by Endosulfan fills your heart.
MINI_REVIEW: A complete book in itself with element of non fiction, fiction, mythology, travelogue, political understandings, humor, environmental issues, and take on human relationship.
So before the last trumpet sounds for earth just as it had sounded years ago ( as endosufan which was Hiroshima sized bomb that impacted slowly with time we forgot) and recently ( as Kerala flood 2018) in South India , pick up this book to introspect if you are living in Heaven (Swarga) or Hell(Narakka).
Happy Reading!
February 20, 2024
If not for this book, I'd be living in blissful oblivion. It's scary to think that there is SO MUCH going on in this world around us (and none of it good) and we don't have even a little clue about it. And the sad part is, as the second slide quotes "compared with the venom that human beings manufacture, how harmless snake poison is!" And it's sad because so many of these problems ARE man made. Also, I loved this one part wherein the man has to be bare naked because of a serpent and the cave refers to the going away of the serpant as the washing away of man's ego and the whole metaphor made sense.
I was talking to a friend the other day and we were talking about how going for a solo trip/trek in the wilderness is one of the most liberating feelings because that's where and when you realise that nature is the almighty up there and you, put against nature, are an inconsequential element in nature's grand scheme of things. Literally. This book proves it. Nature is indeed it all. It provides but if provoked it can be the destroy-er too.
The story starts on a beautiful note with man and woman leaving happily (?) In the dense jungles of a certain Jadadhari hill and then circumstances make them go retrieve back to their past and embrace all the long forgotten memories that they have tried burying. While talking about man's folly it throws light on the big shots and politicians and the so called leaders who care of nothing but their own greed and money.
I was talking to a friend the other day and we were talking about how going for a solo trip/trek in the wilderness is one of the most liberating feelings because that's where and when you realise that nature is the almighty up there and you, put against nature, are an inconsequential element in nature's grand scheme of things. Literally. This book proves it. Nature is indeed it all. It provides but if provoked it can be the destroy-er too.
The story starts on a beautiful note with man and woman leaving happily (?) In the dense jungles of a certain Jadadhari hill and then circumstances make them go retrieve back to their past and embrace all the long forgotten memories that they have tried burying. While talking about man's folly it throws light on the big shots and politicians and the so called leaders who care of nothing but their own greed and money.
May 23, 2018
The translation is not very impressive. Many deep things are lost in translation!
December 31, 2020
Riveting yet heart breaking!
May 5, 2025
I agree with other reviewers who said that the "transliteration" of the Tulu and Kannada-inflected Malayalam spoken by villagers in northern Kerala was not conveyed successfully. Obviously, this would work just fine when reading Swarga in its original Malayalam but for those of us reading the English translation, well, it just doesn't have the same impact. In fact, these regional variances are quite literally, lost in translation, and so trying to force the matter by adding extra syllables to otherwise regular English sentences was quite unnecessary.
It would have simply sufficed to communicate the difference in dialect to the readers in some other way because it was actually quite annoying having to decipher the turgid dialogue by sifting through all the superfluous syllables.
Aside from this stylistic decision taken by the translator, I loved Swarga, which has been my first foray into South Indian literature. Like the region's cinema (which I love), many narrative devices are employed simultaneously to weave together a complex, multi-layered story that taps into regional folklore, pan-Indian mythology, ethnobotany and current social issues surrounding environmental degradation via the use of endosulfan, which the Indian government has historically sprayed on non-native cashew trees because they are an important cash crop while ignoring the toxic impact it has on local communities.
Swarga is a confronting and heartbreaking story, inspired by real-life events which unfolded during the early 2000s when the Indian government's reckless and unchecked use of endosulfan had devastating consequences on the people who populate this beautiful region of northern Kerala.
I loved that this novel is very much rooted in a specific time/place yet its themes are timeless because ultimately, it explores the relationship between Man and Nature; between human greed and nature's bounty; monocultures and mono-crops vs polyculture and agricultural diversity which made this a highly engaging read that taps into the Zeitgeist of our times via its exploration of Man and his ongoing relationship with the natural world.
It would have simply sufficed to communicate the difference in dialect to the readers in some other way because it was actually quite annoying having to decipher the turgid dialogue by sifting through all the superfluous syllables.
Aside from this stylistic decision taken by the translator, I loved Swarga, which has been my first foray into South Indian literature. Like the region's cinema (which I love), many narrative devices are employed simultaneously to weave together a complex, multi-layered story that taps into regional folklore, pan-Indian mythology, ethnobotany and current social issues surrounding environmental degradation via the use of endosulfan, which the Indian government has historically sprayed on non-native cashew trees because they are an important cash crop while ignoring the toxic impact it has on local communities.
Swarga is a confronting and heartbreaking story, inspired by real-life events which unfolded during the early 2000s when the Indian government's reckless and unchecked use of endosulfan had devastating consequences on the people who populate this beautiful region of northern Kerala.
I loved that this novel is very much rooted in a specific time/place yet its themes are timeless because ultimately, it explores the relationship between Man and Nature; between human greed and nature's bounty; monocultures and mono-crops vs polyculture and agricultural diversity which made this a highly engaging read that taps into the Zeitgeist of our times via its exploration of Man and his ongoing relationship with the natural world.
April 30, 2025
A heart-wrenching tale that exposes the horrors of endosulfan poisoning in Northern Kerala. The tale brings to light the "slow violence" of pesticides that affect nature and humans alike. Reading it, I felt furious thinking about the injustice involved in how the government and the authorities dealt with this issue. It is truly a must-read, if you enjoy stories that blur the line between fiction and non-fiction.
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