Slices of the Moon Swept by the Wind

by Surendranath S.

Description
‘I am not like others. I know that. But I do eat like others. And sleep like them. I also cry…But
I will not tell you how I look. It’s for you to imagine any which way you want to. Whatever your
imagination is, I look worse than that.’
So says the little boy who is writing this story, an intelligent, sensitive mind trapped
in a tragically misshapen body. He writes about the world outside, seen from the
window of his a Muharram procession in which a man with green eyes turns
to smile at him; birds that perch on the windowsill like friends; boys who call him
‘monkey’ and hold out peanuts… And he writes about the world Appa, who
harbours a dream that his son will one day go to school, even as he battles his demons
at night; Doddakka, his elder sister, who could never get married; Sannakka, his
middle sister, who will only accept a suitor who accepts her little brother; Amma,
who sells her gold to pay her husband’s debts; Hosakka, whom he had given up for
dead till she mysteriously reappeared; Anna, his elder brother, who defies his father’s
wrath to forge a perilous path… Only Tangi, his baby sister, brings some light into
the house with her smile.
In a dysfunctional universe, it begins to seem that the only ‘normal’ person is the boy,
wise beyond his years.
First published in Kannada, Slices of the Moon is an immensely moving glimpse into the
mind and heart of a special child.

138 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[milton.reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

ಎಸ್. ಸುರೇಂದ್ರನಾಥ್ ರವರ ಕಿರು ಕಾದಂಬರಿ 'ಗಾಳಿಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದ ಚಂದ್ರನ ತುಂಡುಗಳು' ಒಂದು Consanguineous ಮದುವೆಯಿಂದ ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ ಮಗುವಿನ ದ್ರಷ್ಟಿಕೋನದಿಂದ ನಡೆಯುವಂಥ, ಡೈರಿ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದಿರುವಂತ ಕತೆ. 

ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂರ್ನಾಲ್ಕು ಸಾಲುಗಳ ಪುಟಗಳೂ ಇವೆ, 2-3 ಪುಟಗಳ ಪಾರಾಗ್ರಾಫ್ ಕೂಡ ಇದೆ. ಪಾತ್ರಗಳಿಗೆ ಹೆಸರುಗಳಿಲ್ಲ—ಬದಲಾಗಿ ಸಂಬಂಧಗಳ ಮೂಲಕವೇ ಅವರನ್ನು ಪರಿಚಯಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಪ್ರತಿ ಪುಟವೂ ಜೀವನದ ನಿಶ್ಶಬ್ದ ವೇದನೆಯ ಪರಿಚ್ಛೇದವಾಗಿ ಅರಳುತ್ತದೆ. ತನ್ನ ವಿಭಿನ್ನತೆಯನ್ನು ತಿಳಿದಿದ್ದರೂ, ದಯೆಗೆ ಬಲಿಯಾಗದೆ, ಜೀವನವನ್ನು ಶಾಂತವಾಗಿ ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸಿ ಬರೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾನೆ.

'ಎನ್ನ ಭವದ ಕೇಡು' ಓದಿದ ನಂತರ, ಲೇಖಕರ ತೀವ್ರ ಮತ್ತು ಅಸಾಧಾರಣ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿತ್ವಗಳನ್ನು ರೂಪಿಸುವ ಶೈಲಿ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಆಕರ್ಷಿಸಿತು. 

"ಅಂಗಳದ ತುಂಬಾ ಸಣ್ಣ ಸಣ್ಣ ನೀರಿನ ಕೊಳಗಳು.
ಎಲ್ಲಾ ನೀರಿನ ಕೊಳದಲ್ಲೂ ಒಂದೊಂದು ಚಂದ್ರ.
ಅಂಗಳದ ತುಂಬಾ ಚಂದ್ರನ ತುಂಡುಗಳು. 
ಒಂದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಾಳಿ ಬಂದು ಚಂದ್ರ ಚೂರು ಚೂರಾಗಿ
ನಮ್ಮನೆ ಹಿತ್ತಲಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿದ್ದಂಗಿತ್ತು."

ಈ ಸಾಲುಗಳು ಎಂದೂ ಮರೆಯಲ್ಲ.

ರೇಟಿಂಗ್ - ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

[Anoop Pai B · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is written in an epistolary format, and at 112 pages, it is a short read. But within its pages are pain and emotions that will stir a cauldron of emotions never experienced before. Words, like water, can take on many forms depending on the necessities and in this book, the words take the form of a dagger. With each chapter, this dagger edges inside ever so slowly, through the anterior mediastinum region, and eventually finds the heart, especially when you read the last page.

The narrator is an unnamed boy who is born with a physical deformity, and because of this, people treat him like an unwanted mongrel pup. The author subtly attributes the cause of this deformity to the consanguineous marriage of his parents. The boy writes about his family, the harsh words his brother snipes at him, the valour displayed by his 'sannakka' when a couple of ruffians treat him like a circus monkey, and his love for his newborn younger sister, whom he loves a lot. He also talks about how his parents lock him up in his room whenever they have a guest, so that his deformity is not the sight welcoming these guests, and how he does this on his own once he realises what his parents are trying to do.

At this point, you would assume that the boy would be incensed with this differential treatment meted out to him in comparison to the rest of the family members. But he doesn't. In fact, he understands. He sifts through the tumultuous thoughts of his parents and finds the absence of malice in their love for him. He sees this as an act of love.

It is at these moments that you start gasping for air, and you try to do your best to keep the tears inside the ducts. He also narrates about the difficulties his family is going through. There are incidents with his elder brother, his doddakka, his hosakka, his sannakka, his father and his mother. The weathered family tries hard to lead a normal life, but they are struck with one calamity after another, till the last page.

And then you realise the true meaning of the title of the book. For this family, (maybe due to the nature of the parents' marriage), there is no true happiness. They will never get the full moon to savour, relish, digest and enjoy, but they will have to make do with only bits and pieces of happiness— fragments of the moon brought along by the gush of the breeze. For this family, there are only a few controllables, and a lot more are out of control, including small joys of life.

S Surendranath has written a novel that is a must-read for every Kannada book reader.

[Vasanth · Rating 4 out of 5]

ಇತ್ತೀಚಿನ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಬಹಳ ಕಾಡಿದ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಎಸ್. ಸುರೇಂದ್ರನಾಥರ “ಎನ್ನ ಭವದ ಕೇಡು”, ಈ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟ ಅನನ್ಯ ಅನುಭವಕ್ಕೂ ಏನೋ ಅವರ ಇತರೆ ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳನ್ನೂ ಕೊಂಡುಕೊಂಡೆ. ಈ ವಾರಾಂತ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಹಗುರವಾದದ್ದೇನಾದರೂ ಓದೋಣ ಅಂತ ಕೈಗೆತ್ತಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದು “ಗಾಳಿಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದ ಚಂದ್ರನ ತುಂಡುಗಳು”, ಎಷ್ಟು ಚಂದದ ಶೀರ್ಷಿಕೆ ಅಲ್ಲವೇ..? ಪುಸ್ತಕವಂತೂ ಗಾತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಗುರವಾದದ್ದೇ, ಆದರೆ ಕೊನೆಯ ಪುಟ ಓದಿದಾಗ ನನ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂಡಿದ್ದು ಭಾರ ನೀರವ ಮೌನ.

ಯಾವಂದೂ ಸರಿಯಲ್ಲದ, ಸದಾ ದುರಂತಗಳಿಗೆ ಕಾಯುತ್ತಾ ಕೂತಿರುವಂತೆ ಗೋಚರಿಸುವ ಸಂಸಾರ ಅದು. ಈ ಸಂಸಾರದ ವಿಷಾದಕರ ಘಟನೆಗಳನ್ನ ನಮ್ಮ ಮುಂದೆ ತುಂಡು ತುಂಡುಗಳಾಗಿ ತೆರೆದಿಡುವುದು ಅದೇ ಸಂಸಾರದ ಒಬ್ಬ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಹುಡುಗ. ಆ ಹುಡುಗ ಸದಾ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲೇ ಇರ್ತಾನೆ, ಹೊರಗೆ ಹೋಗಲೇಬೇಕಾದ ಅನಿವಾರ್ಯ ಬಂದ್ರೆ ಅವರಪ್ಪ ಅವನ್ನ ಕತ್ತಲಾದಮೇಲೆ ಕರ್ಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗ್ತಾರೆ. ಹಗಲಲ್ಲಿ ಅವನ್ನ ನೋಡಿದ್ರೆ ಜನ ಹೆದ್ರುತಾರೆ. ಅವನು ನಾವು ಊಹಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗದಷ್ಟು ಕೆಟ್ಟದಾಗಿರ್ತಾನಂತೆ, ಒಂದು ಕಿವಿಯೂ ಇಲ್ವಂತೆ.
ಕಥೆಯ ನಿರೂಪಣೆ ಹೀಗೆ ಸಾಗುತ್ತೆ, ತುಂಡು ತುಂಡುಗಳಾಗಿ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳಿವೆ ಅವಕ್ಕೆ ಹೆಸರಿಲ್ಲ. ನೋವಿದೆ, ವಿಷಾದವಿದೆ, ಭಾವವಿದೆ. ಹೆಸರು ಕಟ್ಕೊಂಡು ಏನಾಗ್ಬೇಕು ಬಿಡಿ, ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಓದಿ. ಬಹುಷಃ ಇಷ್ಟ ಆಗಬಹುದು.

[Supriya Vulivireddy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Much like 'Wonder' by R.J. Palacio, this story is set in a middle-class South Indian context. It tries to capture a boy's innocent view of the world but ends up focusing more on the struggles of a middle-class family. Additionally, there are numerous instances that bear a striking resemblance to parts of 'Wonder'.

[Amit Patil · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is very touching yet simple. It takes you through the journey of a boy who observes his family and depicts their reality through his own perspectives. Its a good light read and makes you reflect how human characters around you influence your thinking.