Writing for the earth: An Eco critical Reading of Gift in Green by
Sarah Joseph
Dr. Milon Franz
Associate Professor in English
St. Xavier’s College, Aluva
India
Abstract
Gift in Green by thefamous Malayalam writer, Sarah Joseph is a novel written in an
ecological perspective. She presents a primordial village called Aathi as the backdrop which
attains the stature of a mythical and mystical space. People live there in perfect harmony with
nature. But this harmony is disrupted by the interference of urban and commercial forces.
Even their water-life gets contaminated. But the novel ends on a hopeful note by delineating
the victory of primordial forces over the modern commercial agencies. Through the
presentation of the issues faced by the people of Aathi, Sarah Joseph tries to highlight certain
relevant issues we face both locally and globally. It counteracts the anthropological point of
view and advocates an ecological justice in which other species possess equal rights and
dignity. Concern over the problems connected with the global water politics is also found in
the novel.
Key words: conquest, anthropocentric view, primordial, eco-consciousness, egoconsciousness
The novel, Gift in Green by the famous Malayalam writer, Sarah Joseph presents the
panic and pain resulting from
the disruption of the relationship between man and
environment and also provides the hope of redemption by reclaiming a holistic and integral
approach and effort . Employing water as thecentral metaphor, she foretells thecatastrophe
immanent on humanity if man does not stop his atrocities to nature and environment. She
does this through the delineation of certain contemporary and local issue that attainsa global
and trans localidentify.The issues related to development, urbanization, tourism,deforestation,
uprooting, waste management ,watercontamination, environmental pollution, etc. which
appear as the immediate and intimate problems of the people of anidyllic village called Aathi,
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really upset the reader as he stands in confrontation of these issues in his day to day life and
environment. At the same time, the novel forces us to a serious contemplation of these issues
globally. The scarcity of water is taken up as a serious theme which is contemplated in the
context of the impending threat of invasions for the sake of water. The third world and fourth
world countries live under menace of their water resources sought after by the globalpowers.
The novel, thus in the backdrop of pertinentissues and realities makes a plea for saving
mother earth form destruction, contamination and exploitation.
The novel is set in an unravishedand unadulterated terrain of theviilagecalledAathi
which emerges as a counter space against the forces of all kinds of material,cultural, and
political invasions and exploitations. In Gift in GreenSarah Josephs describes the life in
Aathi: “For generations, the people of Aathi had deemed that land to be Thampuran‟s. No
one had ever dared to take advantage of it in any way…. Other than birds,
squirrels,snakes,garden lizards, chameleons and crickets – familiar denizens of the forest – as
well as amphibious creatures like turtles and frogs, no one had ever laid claim to it”(4). Aathi
is an idyllic village, that nourishes and protects all life forms. It has successfully withstood
the invasion of modernization, urbanization and commercialization until Kumaran an earlier
resident of Aathi returns to it. Kumaran, who left the land of Aathi in search of better
prospects and luxuries of life, comes back with an intention to market its natural resources.
He represents all the corporate agencies and business tycoons who become accomplices and
middlemen in the process of
exploitation by the global market.He tempts the innocent
people of Aathi with the lethal prospects of a consumerist and market culture. He towers
abovethe fortress of primordial simplicity of Aathi as do the global powers over the
undeveloped and under developed nations that are bountiful with natural resources, pure
water and air. Sarah Joseph shows how Kumaran achieves this at first by mastering the strong
woman of Aathi, named Kunjimathu. Sarah Joseph presents the atrocities done to nature
alongwith those to women with the fervour of an active eco feminist. Through the market
based patriarchal ideology, Kumaran tries to devastate the biodiversity ofAathi and to
conquerwoman‟s body simultaneously. Sarah Joseph shows how the forces of capitalist
political hegemony and patriarchywork hand in hand in all terrains of exploitation. The novel
thus tries to protest against all power structures involved in conquest and exploitation.
Gift in Greenalso speaks against the anthropocentric world view which installs human
beings at the center of the universe. It gives a clarion call to include all species a in a tradition
that believed in „vasudaivakudumbakam‟. Sarah Joseph presents the water- life in Aathi as an
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example for this integral and primordial vision. She writes: “There had been a covenant
between them and the water. The fish, the frogs, the crabs, the oysters, the birds, the
butterflies, the reptiles, the grass, the bushes and the mangrove forest were all signatories to
that water covenant. You will give us water and livelihood. We shall work with you and take
care of you” (201).As deep ecology envisages, humans constitute only a part of nature and
there is no ontological separation between our species and other ones. As Martin Heidegger
has said, “Man is not the lord of the universe. Man is the shepherd of Being”(221). Human
beings have the moral responsibility to ensure that every being on this earth has equal share
offood, water, air, shelter and dignity. “Nature has unqualified intrinsic value, with humans
having no privileged place in nature's web. Emphasis is placed on value at holistic levels,
such as populations, ecosystems, and the Earth as a whole, rather than individual entities”
(Barnhill 1). The novel, Gift in Green thus tries to counteract the arrogant anthropocentric
view that human beings are separate from and superior to nature, which exists to serve our
needs.
Water serves as the central metaphor inthe novel. It is the symbol of fertility, sustainability
and vitality. Through the biblical reference, water is presented as the source of life in Aathi:
“Hagar could understand the thirst of a people, the infinite value of water and the secret of
life scripted into it …. But you must know that water is life itself”(14). People of Aathi
realized the sacred value of water and their life was a perpetual baptism of water. The
description of their water-life in the novel bears testimony to that. They truly answered to the
call of water: “Am I not the flow of life itself? If I were to stop flowing, life itself would
come to a halt”(209). As mentioned in an earlier quote, there was a covenant between them
and water. The novel even makes a deification of water on an eco-spiritual line: “Water is not
merely a means of washing away dirt. Since the inscrutable mysteries of life are encoded in
it, we must deem water equal to God. It is in water that people are baptized into spiritual
vitality. Universally, water is revered as the eradicator of sin. None except the man who can
grow a fish on dry land can claim the right to ruin water”(257).
As the narrative progresses, the novel shows how the covenant between water and the
people of Aathi gets broken in the course of time. Water in Aathi gets contaminated. The
unsustainable developmental projects and the interference of people like Kumarandisrupts the
ecological balance by filling up all the wetlands, destroying mangroves and poisoning prawns
fields. Sarah Josephs turns water into a metaphor for life itself: “When it begins, life is like
pure water…. As we grow up, we keep dumping dirt into it: anger, hate,vengeance, jealousy,
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greed… then how can our faces shine?”(149). The novelist shows how the pristine purity of
water in Aathi is “pitted against the ever-thirsty behemoth that can, in one sweeping slurp,
suck dry the waters of Aathi"(274). Aathi thus becomes a symbol of the resourceful and
natural idyllic spaces of the third and fourth worlds which are ravaged by the global tycoons
and corporate power structures. But the novelist ultimately gives the hope that a combined
effort with conviction and compassion can bring in a redemption. With no spring tide and
neap tide, Aathies water-life comes to a standstill. Kunjimathu laments over it. But she
herself stands in the forefront in the effort toredeem and reclaim their land.
The contaminated and polluted water gets transformed into a shamanic force capable
of refreshing and purifying through the baptismal quality and the pristine purity thereby
giving a redemptive hope. The novel gives a foreboding and warning to us who live under
threat of water pollution and scarcity that unless we take steps to preserve water, it will lead
to a catastrophe. Thus the novel traverses through the realms of issues related to pollution and
misuse locally then arriving at a universal threat concerned with water politics and a global/
colonial threat of confiscation by the powerful countries. It also gives us a radiance of hope
that we can achieve redemption through a conscious and concerted effort and a green life.
The novel, Gift in Green thus presents a strong ecological perspective. Glen Love, in his
essay, “Revaluing Nature Toward an Ecological Criticism” states that “nature oriented
literature offers a needed corrective to our narrowly anthropocentric view of life, nature
writing shows regard for the non-human and privileges “eco –consciouness” over “egoconsciousness”(205). Thus Gift in Green addresses the most relevant issues of the times with
responsibility and conviction and gives a redemptive message.
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Citations:
Barnhill, David. (2012). Deep ecology.http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/151670. Web
Heidegger, Martin. The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays. Trans. William
Lovitt. California: Harper& Row Publishers, 1971. Print.
Joseph, Sarah. Gift in Green. Tr. ValsonThampu. New Delhi: Harper Prennial, 201.Print.
Love, Glen,A. “Revaluing Nature Toward an Ecological Criticism”. Western American
Literature. 25.3(Nov. 1990): 201-15.Print.
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