Parched lives in the deserts

November 20, 2014 06:41 pm | Updated 06:41 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Marujeevitham

Marujeevitham

‘Hostage’ and ‘refugee’ are not the words we usually associate with people working abroad. But Marujeevitham by Shihabudheen Poithumkadavu, a set of poignant essays written largely on the economically lower strata of ‘Gulf-Malayalis,’ uses these words often.

The book evokes curiosity and guilt at the same time when we realise how modern Kerala was shaped by this very people, who are still an ignored lot. It is indeed easier to look the other way instead of analysing their situation at an elemental level. It is one aspect to move abroad in search of new career prospects, better income, or for divergent life experiences. But the average Gulf-Malayali is an ‘economic hostage,’ at best a ‘refugee,’ who does not exist in any realm other than that of economic compulsions, according to the author.

Shihabudheen, much-admired for his charming short stories, sheds light on the many facets of this diaspora and wonders why no substantial socio-cultural studies have explored this specific topic so far.

The book, ‘a product of six years of life in the Gulf,’ compiles articles or columns he wrote across this period. It has vivid pictures of literally soul-searing labour sites, crammed rooms where the labourers haggle for a ‘bed-space’ and the real camaraderie forged and nurtured against all odds. The writer says Kerala becomes a single entity only in the Gulf. Cutting across regions and dialects, Malayalis find their true connect on this wilderness, this land of hope and despair.

‘Nadapuram Cafeteria’ is an account of the heights of trust and compassion that people from Nadapuram have achieved in the Gulf. It is curious, considering the fact that this north Kozhikode region is often in the news for incidents of communal trouble and violence. With the insight that is possible only for a keen observer of history, Shihabudheen highlights this as a case of economics-caste interplay.

A perennially packed suitcase, a pair of sandals kept ready outside – the writer depicts the life of a Gulf-labourer with these compelling motifs. Unlike their European-American counterparts, a majority of Gulf-Malayali expatriates are forced to return to India at some point of their lives abroad. This looming uncertainty, the ever-expanding needs back home, an all-consuming nostalgia, a craving for some sort of balance — all these make them the quintessential Rip Van Winkles for whom time has paused the moment they boarded the first flight to The Gulf. That is why you still find a Malayali labourer in a Dubai work site listening intently to a tape recorder playing a cassette of Balachandran Chullikkad poems. He still does not know, nor wants to acknowledge, that Kerala too, just like the Gulf countries, is globalised, liberalised, and homogenised.

Marujeevitham , with its elegant style and poetic headings given to certain heart-felt real-life accounts, points to the need for more such works and sincere studies on the Gulf-Malayali milieu. Our ‘culture’ of absolute disregard for dignity of labour and the thriving caste system constitute the socio-political factors behind this desperate exodus. It is high time we looked beyond the “perfume and sunglasses” to these weary souls who have sacrificed their dreams to fulfil ours.

Marujeevitham

Shihabudheen Poithumkadavu

DC Books

Rs. 80

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