Sahitya Akademi winner Prakash Pareinkar’s work “The Bitter Fruit Tree and other stories”, translated from Konkani into English by Vidya Pai, contains 13 tales chronicling village life in Sattari, a forested region in north-east Goa on the foothills of the Western Ghats.
The stories are rooted in the joys and sorrows of poor villagers as they face nature’s fury or revel in her bounty. They focus on the social, cultural, religious and agricultural traditions on the banks of the Mhadei, as the river Mandovi is known in these parts.
Of the 13 stories, the titular “The Bitter Fruit Tree” (entitled Kaajro in Konkani) sets the stage for what to expect from this collection. Portraying the relationship between husband and wife, Tilgo and Goklem, when the latter is on her deathbed, the connection between them is pure and loving, especially so when contrasted with the selfish and cold nature of the other, dominant caste villagers towards them. The main conflict in this story is not of man versus man, or man versus God, but instead, man versus tradition, no matter how outdated or discriminatory these traditions might be.
Tilgo, the ‘lower caste’ drummer of the village, is left in a conundrum after his sickly wife’s ultimate demise because no one in the village is willing to give him a piece of land to bury her. This story ends with a distraught Tilgo burying Goklem under the bitter fruit – bearing kaajro tree, which is where both the Konkani and English names of the story are taken.
Another heart-wrenchingly written story is “The Sacred Cow”, or “Jyaani” in Konkani, which centers around the fateful disappearance of Jyaani, a cow who is pregnant with a calf. Soni, the protagonist, dedicates all her energy and might into the search for her. This tale, woven with great care and compassion, has an unfortunate and tragic end, but is also somewhat bittersweet, with the representation of a new generation taking on new challenges.
Slices of life that highlight the umbilical ties the people of Sattari share with their land, even as they touch a chord that is of universal import. These stories are all deeply connected to the land of Sattari, with a core focus on how the residents of this area live in tandem with nature and are at the mercy of her tempestuousness.
The book is soulful and heart-touching, with the added characteristic of displaying the sheer rawness of the lives of Sattari’s people.