First Look: SL Bhyrappa's 'aavaraNa'

"Tarnish every person, institution, period from which people may derive pride, confidence/
Ascribe tolerance, magnanimity to the intolerant/
Portray the inclusive, open tradition as the one out to swallow others and the exclusivist, totalitarian ideology as the ideology of broadmindedness, of peace, tolerance/
Denounce as 'Communal' anyone who demands proof/
Blame victims for the consequence of the ideology of the oppressors/
Tarnish the leaders, reformers who led the national movement/
All the while control the institutions, hog patronage, exercise power and have a good time"

-- Arun Shourie on India's "Secular historians" in his book 'Eminent Historians'

Warning: If you plan to read the Kannada book 'aavaraNa' by SL Bhyrappa, please note that below writing reveals the plots and characters of the book!

What makes Bhyrappa's 'aavaraNa' such compelling read? It is not the way it deals with pseudo-secularism that plagued India for so many decades or how it reveals the treachery of India's historians who routinely made-up history according to the whims of the established "secularists". This "old-secular-boys'-network" operated as good as any mafia network. Only difference-this one operated in University campuses. Bhyrappa reveals the inner psychology of India that thrives on self-flagellation and has adopted an attitude of a determined ostrich that would not take its head off the sand. 'aavaraNa' ('Veil' or 'covering') is really 'anAvaraNa' ( 'exposing', 'uncovering') of a strange philosophy that celebrates fundamentalism, closed mindedness of 6th century as "secularism" and denigrates open mindedness and ancient heritage of the land with labels such as 'fascism'. Bhyrappa relies on solid facts and provides plethora of evidence and references.

But none of above are the reasons for making the novel such compelling read. After all, there are enough books by Arun Shouri, HD Sharma, Koenraad Elst, etc. which tell us the true story (history) of India. What makes it such a strong read is its rawness, which hits the reader like a jolt. What makes this such compelling read is that Bhyrappa does not show any sympathy to the reader and bares the truth without any regard; he is not bothered about making things all nice, beautiful and palatable. His agenda is clear; truth, at any cost. He accomplishes all this just by laying out reality in a carefully woven 'story'. In some sense this book assaults the reader from beginning to end without any let up. Beware if you are one of the good-hearted 'secularists' who would nod vigorously at utopian notions such as 'all religions are same'. (If you are, Bhyrappa speaks to you in the guise of a skinny, starving wanderer.) Beware if you have been rinsed in the idea that Tipu was a great Kannada hero or he was a "secular" ruler! You are about to be re-educated. Not for the weak mind or weak heart, this book. Many pages are not for the weak stomach either; there are many events in the book that makes one's stomach churn. (You may want to keep a bucket handy in case you need to throw up.)

Take the episode where Narasimha Gowda's daughter falls in love with Aamir Quireshi and decides to marry him. When her father objects ('you will bear children whose children will destroy our temples'), she figures he is not progressive, even though he is a staunch Gandhian all his life. But when she is nudged by a "progressive" Professor (Shashtri, a Marxist) that she should convert to Islam so that she can marry Amir because that would be an act to further cause of secularism, she agrees! This she does while breaking her father's heart to whom she is the only child. But Lakshmi, who becomes Raziya soon learns that Amir is not what he pretended to be before marriage; a bitter lesson is taught when he repeats 'talaq' three times to the utter disbelief of Razia.

Or take the instance where the Rajputs of Devgadh are attacked and all their women decide to jump into the fire.

And then there are graphic details of how an attractive seventeen-year-old prisoner of war, Rajput Prince, no less, is converted and turned into a 'hijda'. While the he is being neutered of his manhood, reader feels the utter destruction caused by the people who follow a faith that is alien to India's ethos and basic moral tenets.

That act of neutering a Rajput is both real and symbolic. Reader feels nuetering ("nirveerya") of the land and the people in more than one sense. It is the same feeling one gets when reading about the destruction of thousands of temples, including Kashi Vishwanatha by moghals. Author elaborates on this subject, producing ample references on the practice of "making hijdas" out of prisoners of war by Islamic warriors who used these prisoners as sex slaves.

Bhyrappa has tried to be un-hesitant in his writings. He has relied upon Arun Shouri, Ram Swarup, Sitaram Goel, etc. ( In fact, he in one instance repeats a line from Arun Shouri's books on the technique used by pseudo-seculars and anti-Hindus; "suppresso veri, sugesto falsi", suppress the truth, insinuate the falsehood). But he also quotes just as many Islamic "scholars" themselves to make his point. After all, there are countless Islamic writers who bragged about the destruction they caused.

The technique ('tantra' as the author calls it) used by the author to unravel the premise is excellent. Bhyrappa speaks through many characters. Sometime he speaks through Lakshmi Gowda, who becomes Razia and then realizes how shallow her new faith and her own ideas are, other times he speaks through the young Rajput whose manhood has been chopped off and is being used as a sex-slave and some other time he speaks through a barely clad, skinny, sun burned wanderer. Reader probably has seen many similar characters in real life (like Prof. Shastri who is a 'Marxist' married to a westerner and has declared that eating meat is "modern" and banishing beef eating is backward).

This book, no doubt will offend the established, institutional, "secularists" and selective-minority-ism peddlers. Personally this reader expects the "secular" knives to go after Bhyarappa in the near future, if the novel keeps getting more popular.

I felt the novel is "completed" rather quickly. Characters had lot of potential to develop, but the author is more focussed on the broader theme. May be it is a good thing and will attract more readers.

A must read, this novel by Shri SL Bhyrappa.