BY MANOHAR SHETTY

For Pepper and Christ, By Keki N Daruwalla; Penguin Books India, N Delhi; Rs. 399; Pp 354.

WITH HIS nine books of poems, besides his collected volume, Keki N. Daruwalla is a pivotal figure in the rarefied zone of English poetry in India. Besides his prodigious output of poetry, this retired senior officer of the Indian Police Service has produced a novella, three volumes of short fiction and two collections of poetry for children. For Pepper and Christ is Daruwalla’s first novel, and quite befitting his prolific output and expansive outlook, this is an ambitious work set at the end of the 15th century and a few years later in Europe, Africa and India against the backdrop of the voyages and conquests of the great Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. The historical novel is a rarity in India and, given the rich material available, this in itself is quite surprising. Daruwalla thus sets out bravely on barely charted seas.

As befits a historical novel, Daruwalla’s work teems with an array of colourful characters, both real and fictitious: the intrepid but brutal Captain-major Vasco da Gama himself, the effete and too trusting Zamorin of Calicut, the self-questioning Brother Figueiro, who accompanies the Captain on his voyages to Africa and India to save the souls of the heathens, and the obviously fictitious figure of the ‘heretic painter’ Ehtesham ul Haq, usually accompanied by his crony, the man-about-town Murad who are dogged by the obsequious perfumer Saleem al Attar. But the true ‘hero’ of the novel is Taufiq, Vasco da Gama’s young and faith-shaken pilot of his ship. Hovering around darkly is the arch villain, the ‘long-bearded fatwa-frothing fanatic’, the Muhtasib, the feared ‘Lord Inspector’ of Weights and Measures and self-appointed moral guardian of Cairo who decrees all artistic expression as ungodly and hounds the painter Ehtesham.

Apart from the major characters, the book teems with minor players who pop in and out of the narrative. Given the plethora of characters, an expert hand is needed, as it were, to steady the ship. Unfortunately, the ship flounders and loses its way. Intrinsic to the success of a historical novel with a looming backdrop of colonial conquest is fluent, attention grabbing story-telling. Despite all the rigorous research, Daruwalla gets mired in a plethora of unnecessary detail and a narrative that often ricochets off into irrelevant tangents. The result is a confusing read, all the more regrettable as the author has gone to great lengths to research the historical background of the pioneering Portuguese voyages to Africa and India. It is a great pity because the painstaking research has not been shaped or developed enough to harvest the fruits of meaningful fiction. And the few women who flit around the book are nothing more than decorative accoutrements.

There are in fact so many characters crammed into the digressive narrative that the pivotal figure of Vasco da Gama himself seems peripheral. It is one thing peopling a novel with so many players, but quite another weaving readable and absorbing stories around them. The Latin American masters have amply demonstrated how such compelling and expansive narratives can be achieved. For all its historical detail, even in the hands of a seasoned poet like Daruwalla who often successfully uses historical subjects in his poems, For Pepper and Christ unfortunately ends up as a rather bland dish, despite all the piquant spices thrown in.

- Manohar Shetty