Search for culture that existed before Sikhism

Des Raj Kali’s new novel ‘Parneshwari’, challenging the c u l t u r a l hegemonies of Sikh religion, is making waves drawing comparisons with the likes of Hemingway and Kafka, writes Vikram Jit Singh in The Times of India

Punjab’s culture is certainly not agrarian, as non-Punjabi jest would have one believe. It imbibes a whole tradition of folk mores — Bhangra, gurpurab, saag-makki di roti and so much more. In Parneshwari, award winning novelist, journalist and activist Des Raj Kali peeks into the Dalit community of yore, seeking to lend them an identity when the contemporary social realities fail to respond to their aspirations. An abstract fiction, Kali’s work is rooted in P u n j ab ’s legacy of Sufism and Buddhism and challenges the c u l t u r a l hegemonies of Sikh religion. That the writer seeks no quarter for his community is apparent when he seeks to subvert the enslaving hegemonies of economics and politics that derive sustenance from a dominant and globalising culture. The protagonist, Parha, takes the reader on a journey of cultural and psychological mindscapes. Not only is the book an important part of the growing non-Jat Sikh writing tradition, it also marks a shift in the cultural location of Punjabi writing — from a village to mofussil town. “Kali’s novel is not derived from experience. It is a fiction of thought. Its abstract form reminds one of Ernest Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea. Each sentence is an episode in itself. The novelist creates his own style of writing. One has to discard the old practises of reading Punjabi literature when one reads Kali. Parneshwari is clearly the work of a mind dissatisfied with contemporary Punjabi literature. I would venture to say that Kali is a Franz Kafka of Punjabi. His abstract fiction means that he does not always correlate everything in his book, but the work is profound. If Kali’s restless outpourings are not understood, he may turn into a recluse. If recognised for their worth, he has a very bright future,” claims Dr Sarbjit Singh, general secretary of Kendriya Punjab Lekhak Sabha and a noted novelist. “Unlike the effervescence of Dalit literature in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Dalit writings in Punjab are not confrontationist. This is so because of the unique context the state, where Sikhism has ensured that the unspeakable atrocities heaped on Dalits elsewhere are not repeated. However, despite its egalitarian nature, social discriminations remain and Dalits continue to harbour multiple grievances. Kali’s third novel searches for the composite culture that existed before the advent of Sikhism and was rooted in Sufi/Buddhist traditions, when Dalits converted to Sufism, Buddhism and Islam to escape discrimination,” claims Dr Man Mohan, a noted poet and Punjabi critic.