Indhiya Kudisai - The short fiction narrates the tale of an English scholar visiting India in search for answers to his questions on truth. In the sub-continent of the 18th century, he meets the principal priest of the famed Jagannath Temple and poses a few questions to him.
Almost 227 years ago, an English scholar, who wanted to know the answer for the million-dollar question on truth, came to India. He believed that spiritual leaders heading the Hindu religion would answer his thousands of questions. But he never expected to get enlightened by a poor outcast in an overnight conversation with him in his hut.
The novella La Chaumière indienne written in 1790 by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, popular French author and pupil of Jean –Jacues Rousseau, depicts the social evils in 18th century India, which was infested by superstition, caste discrimination and corruption.
As a treat for Tamil fiction readers, the book is available in Tamil on the title Indhiya Kudisai (The Indian Cottage), translated by R. Desikapillai.
Saint-Pierre begins the novella thus:
“Almost 30 years ago, an association consisting of scholars was founded in London with an objective to provide enlightenment to mankind by researching all works of art and meeting people of erudition across the world".
Representing the organization, an English scholar, who is the protagonist of the novella, visits India, carrying with him a bundle of questions on the philosophy of truth. There, he was told that only the principal priest of the famed Jagannath Temple possesses the intellect to answer his questions. Therefore, accompanied by a band of Indian servants, the English scholar sets out for the temple to meet the priest.
“Could you tell me in what way one can discover the truth on earth? And, if it is discovered, can it be shared with all fellow beings? “The scholar asks the priest.
But the priest replies:
“The only way to discover truth is through the Brahmin priests, since it is the dictum from Lord Brahma. The truth is found only in the Vedas, which were written before one lakh and twenty years".
But the English scholar, who is on the welfare mission to discover the secrets of life and share it with mankind, is shocked at the priest’s other statement.
“It is better to keep commoners away from truth. At the same time, it is a duty to disclose it only to the priestly class. It is also a religious taboo for a Brahmin priest to argue with a European scholar“ saying this, the priest moves about.
The English scholar, who even brought valuable presents for the priest, must have realized his ignorance, after the temple servants smashed the earthen pot, out of which he drank the water. Their act implied the ‘impurity’ on the utensil after it is used by a paranki (meaning white gourd and a derogatory term to call an Englishman).
Then, having left the sprawling campus of the Hindu temple, the English scholar meets an outcast, whom even dictionaries mention derogatorily as a’ paraiah’ even today. The poor man was living with his wife and child in a hut adjacent to a thick forest.
However, with a bit of hesitation, he welcomes the English scholar and provides him a delicious dinner. A victim of discrimination, who would even deserve a death punishment on his appearance before members of the upper caste those days, the outcast learned the philosophy of truth from nowhere but from his own status of life.
As he narrates the sad tale of his life in an overnight conversation, the English scholar gets enlightened by the outcast’s wisdom. As the day dawned with the chirping of birds in his little garden, the scholar bade farewell to the outcast and begged him to accept his presents.
However, the outcast humbly declined them and expressed his wish to have the Englishman’s golden mouth-tipped hookah in exchange for his tobacco pipe with a clay mouth tip. The English scholar was very glad to do it.
The outcast tells his English guest:
“Whenever I smoke your hookah, I visualize you too doing the same in your land, without any aversion that the tobacco pipe had once been used by me, a poor outcast of this country”.
The novella La Chaumière indienne written in 1790 by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, popular French author and pupil of Jean –Jacues Rousseau, depicts the social evils in 18th century India, which was infested by superstition, caste discrimination and corruption.
As a treat for Tamil fiction readers, the book is available in Tamil on the title Indhiya Kudisai (The Indian Cottage), translated by R. Desikapillai.
Saint-Pierre begins the novella thus:
“Almost 30 years ago, an association consisting of scholars was founded in London with an objective to provide enlightenment to mankind by researching all works of art and meeting people of erudition across the world".
Representing the organization, an English scholar, who is the protagonist of the novella, visits India, carrying with him a bundle of questions on the philosophy of truth. There, he was told that only the principal priest of the famed Jagannath Temple possesses the intellect to answer his questions. Therefore, accompanied by a band of Indian servants, the English scholar sets out for the temple to meet the priest.
“Could you tell me in what way one can discover the truth on earth? And, if it is discovered, can it be shared with all fellow beings? “The scholar asks the priest.
But the priest replies:
“The only way to discover truth is through the Brahmin priests, since it is the dictum from Lord Brahma. The truth is found only in the Vedas, which were written before one lakh and twenty years".
But the English scholar, who is on the welfare mission to discover the secrets of life and share it with mankind, is shocked at the priest’s other statement.
“It is better to keep commoners away from truth. At the same time, it is a duty to disclose it only to the priestly class. It is also a religious taboo for a Brahmin priest to argue with a European scholar“ saying this, the priest moves about.
The English scholar, who even brought valuable presents for the priest, must have realized his ignorance, after the temple servants smashed the earthen pot, out of which he drank the water. Their act implied the ‘impurity’ on the utensil after it is used by a paranki (meaning white gourd and a derogatory term to call an Englishman).
Then, having left the sprawling campus of the Hindu temple, the English scholar meets an outcast, whom even dictionaries mention derogatorily as a’ paraiah’ even today. The poor man was living with his wife and child in a hut adjacent to a thick forest.
However, with a bit of hesitation, he welcomes the English scholar and provides him a delicious dinner. A victim of discrimination, who would even deserve a death punishment on his appearance before members of the upper caste those days, the outcast learned the philosophy of truth from nowhere but from his own status of life.
As he narrates the sad tale of his life in an overnight conversation, the English scholar gets enlightened by the outcast’s wisdom. As the day dawned with the chirping of birds in his little garden, the scholar bade farewell to the outcast and begged him to accept his presents.
However, the outcast humbly declined them and expressed his wish to have the Englishman’s golden mouth-tipped hookah in exchange for his tobacco pipe with a clay mouth tip. The English scholar was very glad to do it.
The outcast tells his English guest:
“Whenever I smoke your hookah, I visualize you too doing the same in your land, without any aversion that the tobacco pipe had once been used by me, a poor outcast of this country”.