JOIN USThe Legend of Ramulamma
Vithal Rajan
Hachette
2014, pp 190
Rs 350
The Legend of Ramulamma by Vithal Rajan is a collection of short tales bound together by a rather unusual character.
A midwife or dai, and a Dalit, Ramulamma’s antics and exploits form the crux of each of the book’s 12 stories. As the stories progress, Ramulamma plays the role of midwife, doctor, detective — and she is, through it all, aware of society’s views of her and her caste.
The first story, Ramulamma, opens with her witnessing a rape and murder. The middle-aged dai’s emotional turmoil, her anger and frustration, and her eventual tackling of the perpetrators in her own ingenious fashion is pretty well conveyed. In A Cure for Sugunamma, the midwife is forced to play the role of a doctor when the real doctor verbally abuses and misdiagnoses a pregnant Dalit woman’s illness.
She Closes the Case has at its heart a murder and the quest for justice, while The Visitor is a humorous and convincing tale of a foreign visitor’s trip to India. The Grandest Wedding in Town and The Aussie Volley both showcase Ramulamma’s knack of reading between the lines, while A Million Protesters and Lisa’s Story have darker undertones.
Ramulamma, present in all of these tales, is a resourceful, if not inherently ingenious, woman. She is also, as the stories reveal, quick to think, and musters enough courage to ensure justice is served in whatever way she can. A Million Protesters, for example, sees her adherence to honesty, despite the temptations that could have drawn her the other way. There are times, however, when Ramulamma could have used more depth — as the telling gets long in the stories, most of her actions are merely told.
The narrative, especially that deals with Ramulamma’s characterisation, proceeds to explain minutiae of her decisions and actions to the reader, without showing the character doing it. The prose is, unfortunately, rather staid, almost essay-like in its presentation, despite the simplicity of the language. Some stories stand out on their own better than others, The Visitor is a case in point. There are also times when Ramulamma’s ingenuity borders on the improbable. It could be because of the far too many convenient situations she finds herself in. That also means she’s rarely wrong.
Other characters are reasonably well developed in The Legend of Ramulamma. Most stories offer a different character that blends well into the narrative. Arshad, Raul and Lakshmi, for instance, are clearly defined. Conversations are, for the most part, smooth, but stilted and overdrawn in other situations.
Some stories could have also used more conversation. Entire episodes, like Ramulamma bumping into a chief minister, are merely told in a few lines, lessening their effect. And while social issues are explored in the stories, it is possible to have too many issues crammed into a book. Ramulamma has multiple issues being a Dalit, and those are convincing.
However, the book also deals with theft, ill-tempered doctors, AIDS, murder, rape, incompetent police officers, caste prejudice, accidents, large extended families, Naxals, protests and writer’s block. Too many issues push the tales themselves into the background. There are even times when Ramulamma’s presence in those situations requires more than a few simple sentences.
The Legend of Ramulamma could have used more emphasis on storytelling, and the issues presented could have been better integrated into the stories. As it stands, the book seems more of a collection of essays with a little fiction thrown in, when the other way around would have heightened the impact of the points being made. Ramulamma herself could have been more fleshed out, and her appearances in different scenarios better handled, to make them more believable. As it stands, they are a little confusing in some stories.
Overall, The Legend of Ramulamma is pleasant, the writing style is simple, although greater focus on the weaving of the tales would have done wonders for immersive reading.