Idris : Keeper of the light by Anita Nair
I am Idris. Idris Maymoon Samataar Guleed. Previously of Dikhil. Now and eternal traveler seeking the measure of earth and man.
Idris resembles a luxuriant ornate display in the vastness and breadth of its settings. It’s ensemble characters are intricately sculpted by Nair’s prodigious literary might. The tale is sheathed in a fascinating gilded ancient past of south India and Sri Lanka. If one has to make comparisions the most befitting one is a comparision to the movie franchise- Pirates of the Carribean sans the fight sequences because the story doesn’t unfold like a drama infused with various emotions. It unfolds like a quest that Kandavar, the titular character’s illegitimate son witnesses throughout the story with emotions hanging like aurelius borealis in the background.
The backdrop of the story shifts from a Mamangam festival in ancient Kerala to Sri Lanka and then finally along the south eastern coast of India. It is not just the backdrop suffused with wonderment that grants allure to this book, it’s an ensemble of characters unlike any other witnessed before. Kandavar is revealed as a pre-teen intent on assassinating the Zamorin of Calicut to restore his family’s pride by being a part of the Chaver Pada. Kandavar’s mother and Idris’s lover is a fiercely independent woman who defies the caste laws to be with an Africa like idris. Kandavar’s maternal uncle, is showed as someone determined to save his family lineage by protecting the only remaining heir — kandavar.
The story that unfolds is a result of the emotions that these four characters depict, a mother’s love, an uncle’s desire to protect his nephew, a father’s desire to show an alternative to his illegitimate son and show him a path away from his desire for a suicidal mission and finally kandavar’s burning mission to assassinate the zamorin and his sense of honour and duty.
Anita Nair displays an accurate rendition of a 17th century Kerala and its traditions which many nationalists and conservatives of today’s guardians of Hinduism would blanch at including the practice of having sambandhams (male consorts who only visit the woman once in a while), the practice of the child living with the mother in her family, the punishment meted out during the era, the cast laws that disapproved of travelling in the sea.
However, the genius of the story lies in its ability to conjure women of incredible sophistication further along the tale. Kandavar travels with Idris from Kerala to Sri Lanka and finally to Andhra Pradesh leaving his family and his martial art studies and learns new customs and practices.
The epochal point at the fag end of the novel can only be described as heart-wrenching but what makes this tale truly spectacular is the ability of this tale to transport the reader into the fabled lands of ancient India, and India that has scantily received and attention. The customs might seem alien to those who have only read about the mainstream Indian history consisting of Mughals, Rajputs and Britishers. This tale focuses on the Zamorins, Dutch, Portuguese and Shahs. But, more importantly this book focuses on opening a portal to a vista hitherto not captured in such a poetic way.
