A Wedding in Washington

 

Book Review 

Priests chanting Vedic hymns, auspicious musical notes of thavil and nadaswaram, women in crisp silk sarees and grandmas in nine-yard sarees - some sipping their coffee and gossiping away while others draw kolam and bustle about multiple chores, heavenly aroma of food with the fragrance of jasmine, rose water and sandal paste leaving a heady mix, a beautifully decorated platform with the ritual fire in its middle - typical wedding scenes, right? 

What if I tell you these scenes from a Tamil Iyer wedding aren’t from Madras but from Washington DC, you wouldn’t be surprised. A few cousins of mine have tied the knot in the USA in the last two decades, one even jokingly refers to Sunnyvale in California as Surya Nagar for its Indian population. But that the author transported a Tamil Iyer wedding, its rituals intact with much aplomb to the USA’s capital city back in 1963 when migration wasn’t rife is novel and very creative. Inspired by Walt Disney's The Absent Minded Professor and the sight of a few Caucasians at Thiruvaiyaru Tyagaraja Aradhanai, he wrote the novella, first serialized in tamil weekly Vikatan, even years before Tyagaraja musical festival reached Cleveland, USA. But why/how did a Tamil wedding reach the banks of Potomac river?

The Hobbs and the Murthys are family friends in New York, their daughters Loretta and Vasantha best buddies. When the Hobbs attend Vasantha’s wedding in Tanjore in India, they bring home exciting tales and lovely photographs that tempt Loretta’s aunt, Mrs. Rockfeller, a very influential and affluent woman, to host and experience a Tamil wedding in full grandeur on the American soil. And Rukmini’s wedding with Rajagopal is the chosen one. Hereon begins a laughter riot where only logic is harmed and nothing else. As the groom and bride, their relatives, priests, cooks, musicians, even narikuravas (a nomadic, street hawker community) arrive with their paraphernalia in Washington DC, the word pun, wide-eyed/good humored curiosity for a different culture, Gopulu Sir’s gorgeous life-like illustrations enthrall us readers. When the wedding is solemnized and people leave, it’s not just Mrs. Rockfeller who bids goodbye with a heavy heart, we readers feel sad at a hilariously exaggerated journey, well-told in translation, coming to an end.

Additional note - 

“Humour can make a serious difference. In the workplace, at home, in all areas of life - looking for a reason to laugh is necessary” (a popular quote). 

Just as important it is, good humour (not adulterated with crass jokes, shaming/mocking & obscenities) is hard to find - in life, books, movies. That SaVi, the author, the eponymous Tamil weekly’s editor, researcher and overseer, a literary institution himself, transported a whole Tam-Bram wedding entourage to the middle of Washington when migration wasn’t commonplace or destination weddings unheard of is ingenious. The slim book in 11 chapters is dotted with many little hilarious things - boasting that Madras has Georgetown just like Washington DC, thinking of the Capitol Dome as a huge idly pot’s cover, grandmas doing a recce of Washington buildings to find a terrace big enough to roll and dry appalams needed for the wedding.

When some of the appalams fly in the air, they are mistaken for flying saucers and shot down by the Americans. This becomes a local news headline which when translated by a young man to a patti (grandma) leaves her worrying that appalams deep fried would have tasted better than toasted ones. The Tamil word ‘chutta’ means both toasted and shot down. This should give the reader an inkling of how complex the process of translation is. 

Each wedding ritual replete with such terms paves way for word-play/pun, that if hard to imagine and write, is harder to translate. As one hailing from the community, this book was a breezy read for me. But the translator Nandini Vijayaraghavan has worked hard to ensure every reader can understand and appreciate the content with her endnotes - Iyer wedding rituals, wedding food items and glossary. 

The illustrations by Gopulu Sir add vigour to the storytelling, I was busy figuring who’s who in them. The author’s son-in-law in ‘Note on the Author’ writes Savi said “Never be a miser when it comes to appreciating others”. This is my way of keeping in mind what the author said, an ode to him, a note of appreciation for the translator’s efforts and patience for 13 years, the publisher’s penchant to bring forth much-loved novels in Indian languages in translation for readers worldwide. It is of note that two recent releases by Ratna Books - Veerapandiya Kattabomman by Ma Po Sivagnanam, translated from Tamil by Tara Murali and this book are commissioned for TNTB & ESC; under its aegis, these are sure to reach more readers. 

PS: A copy of the book was obtained from the publisher in return for an honest review. Thank you so much Ratna Books for sending me a copy of this lovely book.