The history of everything

Apart from a journey through Sanskrit and India from the emergency to the tumultuous 90’s, Aathish Taseer’s book is the take of a family living in those times

Aathish relates the past and the present. Photo: Prashant Nakwe

Writer Aathish Taseer’s latest novel, The Way Things Are can be termed as a political history of India from the Emergency to the present day, with the anti Sikh riots, the assassination of Mrs. Gandhi, the rise of the Hindu Right Wing and the demolition of the Babri Masjid, marking key events in the tale.

It is also a story of the gradual eclipsing of a particular type of elite in India and can also be constructed as a narrative of a child of the Emergency learning more about his father. There is also a thread of the rise of right wing politics in India, with Sanskrit playing a key role.

Aathish says, “When I started off, I just had the basic story arc in mind, that of a son returning to India with his dead father. The relationship they shared, the politics surrounding the father’s disenchantment with India, the political tussle between the English-speaking elite and the political right in India came about once I started writing. I do not set out writing with a set message to deliver in the end.”

He says, “I wanted to highlight the relationship between the past and the present. The inspiration for this book and the dual narrative was a Sanskrit text

, The Kumarashambava . In The Kumarasambhava , you see that the women in the poem bear no resemblance to what the men in saffron would have the modern Indian woman be today.”

Sanskrit crept into the novel since Aathish was studying the language at Oxford when the book began. “I think Sanskrit a beautiful language, full of thought and planning. It makes you fall in love with it.”

Sanskrit forms an important part of the narrative. “Both the key protagonists are in love with the language and are not very enamoured by the political right. It is a key element that connects the characters in the book. It acts as a kind of chorus. It is coincidental that the book came out at a time when Sanskrit found itself in some sort of a controversy - when the Central Government made it the third language instead of German in Central schools. I do not think this is the best way to introduce Sanskrit. It should be done in an organised manner and not shoved down the throats of children.”

He adds, “I think one of the tragedies of our times is that the rabid right wing has tried to appropriate all the symbols of our past. I have always felt that the modern Indian does not dwell much in the realms of ancient Indian history, unlike in Europe, where classical languages are studied.”

Aathish says that the Prime minister must step in and ensure that the agenda of the government is not hijacked by these fringe elements.

Is the story a semi autobiographical account? “The characters share some of my traits but it is not an autobiography. It is a very different book from my earlier novels.”