Book Review : Beastly Tales from Here and There - by Vikram Seth.
A set of ten fables in verses in this book, the first two from India, the next two from China, the next two from Greece, next two from Ukraine and last two that came to Seth from the Land of Gup (this mention reminds me of Rushdies' book Haroun and the Sea of Stories).
Fables presented as poems, delightfully lyrical and magical, timeless classics these are that cannot be reviewed but only eulogized.
The collection starts with the familiar - The Crocodile and the Monkey from Panchatantra , fabulously retold. Then there is The Louse and the Mosquito, two diminutive creatures leave a matter of fact lesson.
Seth gracefully re tells these fables in rhythmical prose and stirs up a mini albeit immature poet in the reader.
I have jotted down my summary of the above tales in a poetic way, under the book's influence.
1) The Crocodile and The Monkey.
This is the tale of Kuroop, the crocodile,
Who lived with his wife on Ganga's isle.
And of a monkey, happy and jolly,
Who threw the sweetest mangoes to croc friend below in a volley.
Everything went well, there were no woes,
Until the croc couple turned bitter foes.
Monkey had no clue, but his mind alert and ways smart,
Had a brilliant escape, and saved his heart.
2) The Louse and the Mosquito
Very short tale of blood sucking louse and mosquito,
Of how the former allowed the latter to bite a royal toe.
A small drink of royal blood was the ailing mosquito's need,
To which the louse did reluctantly heed.
Only to land in trouble the same day,
However, unaffected the mosquito flew away.
The Mouse and the Snake is a retelling of a Chinese tale - of friendship, of death, grief and pain. There is a lot of humor and wit in The Rat and the Ox, tale of how the rat acquired the first and most prominent position in the Chinese zodiac, by nook or crook.
The Eagle and the Beetle is a Greek tale retold beautifully, of friendship, loss, anguish, above all, of unabashed vengeance and wrath that even the God cannot behold.
The very famous Aesop fable - The Hare and The Tortoise appears next in collection, leaving the reader stumped for Seth's atypical interpretation of this fable opens new vistas. Does one always have to be slow and steady to win the race? Or is this just a bygone fad? One should read this beautiful piece to get the answer.
The Cat and the Cock from Ukraine is a gentle reminder of the fact that a friend in need is a friend indeed and that to his advice one should heed. The Goat and the Ram stresses on the importance of how a mind applied correctly without panic can help one emerge out any challenging situation, it seemed very similar to Three Billy Goats Gruff tale in essence for me.
The last two fables - are Seth's own creations and they are sheer magic.
How many of us remember The Frog and the Nightingale from class 10 textbook? The tale of a boisterous, vile and corrupt frog who is determined to stay supreme and unbeaten in his bog with his cacophonous croak; usurps a sweet voiced, immensely talented but highly naive nightingale using all crooked means, leading to even death of the poor bird in the end.
The Elephant and the Tragopan is a harsh reminder of the times we live in, a precise summation of the constant strife between animals and man, how the latter so selfish and ruthless, unleashes havoc on the planet in name of self sustenance, wipes out the existence of every animal for his benefits, alters the very scape of their land, their homes to get his water and food. One should read this to understand why this tale by Seth is so often anthologized.
From the ubiquitous Rat to the lesser known Tragopan, animals from here and there impart very common lessons, leave gentle reminders of simple and purposeful life. It is a pleasure of different sorts when a book instills a child like happiness, elicits naive smiles in agreement, invokes memories of fables and childhood story time.
Must buy, must read and one should preserve such priceless classics in the safest sections of ones' bookshelf.
.
