“The poisoner usually ends up drinking the poison himself. Just something for you to think about.” A quote from Victory City, a novel by Salman Rushdie.
I think this novel will become a literary
classic. I am thankful for this masterpiece nourished by the study of history
and myth, molded by the artistry and prowess of an author with insightful perspectives. Rushdie’s imagination and inventiveness stretch beyond the limits of history,
gifting us a novel whose originality is something I cannot compare with anything I’ve read
before.
It is not only its literary beauty what makes
it sublime and original. The novel illuminates every aspect of human nature and
evinces how the strengths and flaws of it shape the fate of societies and human
lives. I think these forces will also determine the destiny of humanity
and life on earth, so this book is expansive in its nature. It is a wellspring
of allegories that mirror the conflicts and challenges of our modern societies.
It is a reminder of how the destructive forces of human nature—greed, envy, rage,
lust-- have the potential to lead to our self-destruction if they are left
unchecked.
On the last day of her long life, poetess and
prophetess Pampa Kampana completed her immense poem about the story of Victory
City in Sanskrit, then buried it in a clay pot sealed with wax. The story and
all its secrets were unearthed four and a half centuries later. It is retold in
plainer language by the narrator, who is “neither a scholar nor a poet but
merely a spinner of yarns, and who offers this version for the simple
entertainment and possible edification of today’s readers, the old and the
young, the educated and the not so educated, those in search of wisdom and
those amused by folly, northerners and southerners, followers of different gods
and of no gods, the broad-minded and the narrow-minded, men and women and
members of the genders beyond and in between, scions of the nobility and rank
commoners, good people and rogues, charlatans and foreigners, humble sages and
egotistical fools.”
The
best and the worst features of humanity bubble up on the pages of Victory
City. Pampa Kampana was a little girl when she witnessed the burning of the
women of a defeated kingdom. Most of them were widows. Her mother also
surrendered her life to the flames.
“Gravely,
without making any complaint, they said farewell to one another and walked
forward without flinching. Nor were there any screams when their flesh caught
fire and the stink of death filled the air.”
Pampa
Kampana felt the universe was sending her a message. She would turn her face
toward life instead. “She would not sacrifice her body merely to follow dead
men into the afterworld. She would refuse to die young and live, instead, to be
impossibly, defiantly old. It was at this point that she received the celestial
blessing that would change everything…”
Pampa Kampana was endowed with special talents
and gifts. The goddess within her spoke to her.
“You will fight to make sure that no more women are ever burned in this fashion, and that men start considering women in new ways, and you will live just long enough to witness both your success and your failure, to see it all and tell its story, even though once you have finished telling it you will die immediately and nobody will remember you for four hundred and fifty years.” Pampa Kampana would strive to give women equal agency in a patriarchal world.
Pampa Kampana lived for 247 years and here’s
her story: an enchanting novel of love, adventure and politics. How did Salman
Rushdie manage to offer a surprise on every page? How did he create such a
masterpiece? It is hard to describe the wisdom and grace that unfold through
this magical story, so embark on the enigmatic journey and explore the messages
it conveys.
When Salman Rushdie received the Freedom to
Publish Award last year, he urged people to stand up to intolerance and support
the freedom to read. Let’s reflect for a moment on the freedom to read the
books we choose. Let’s remind readers of their right to read.
The
freedom to read books in the United States of America is protected by the First
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Have you ever paused to meditate on what it
means to ban books? The act of banning books curtails the rights of both
readers and writers. The act of banning or restricting books also implies that it
is acceptable to silence a group of people, to violate their right to free
expression. It makes no sense in a democracy. It is a violation of the First
Amendment of the United States Constitution. If there are people out there who
do not like a specific book, they can use their freedom to read it and express
their views on it, but they do not have the right to ban it.
There is a political party in America that follows the playbook of Vladimir Putin. Let’s be clear here. The choice to
read or not to read a book is personal, and nobody should be forcing others to
make that choice. The people who advocate for book bans claim that they want to
make decisions on what their children can read. This is not true. What they
want is to impose their own censorship on other families. If they do not
want their children to have access to a book, they should have a conversation
with their own children, but they should have no authority over other
children’s choices. Claiming to support freedom while supporting the act
of banning or restricting books in public libraries indicates an Orwellian
pattern of behavior. It is the clear sign of a fascist ideology. This is wrong
on many levels, but, first and foremost, it is a violation of the First
Amendment.
My
Writing Life blog supports democratic principles, promotes the freedom to read
books and stands against hate.
Supplementary
links:
https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-anti-lgbtq-campaign-echoes-putin-playbook-experts-1806093
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240430-russia-s-book-police-anti-gay-law-opens-ugly-new-chapter
https://pen.org/report/book-bans-pressure-to-censor/
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/kids-action/articles/we-support-the-freedom-to-read
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/nazi-book-burnings-recurring-symbol
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-01-10/capitol-insurrection-iran-hostage-crisis
