Historical Fiction - Kaveri Stories

Posted on September 21, 2004 17:9 PM EST

I love reading historical fiction. The kind of books I have read are the ones that cover several decades/centuries narrating events of historical importance through the observing/participating eyes of fictional characters who span several generations. Often the main characters belong to a handful of families, and there is a continuity of these families through history.

Caribbean (about the Caribbean islands) and Texas (about the TX state, of course) are two books by James Michener which I really enjoyed, especially Caribbean. I have read several other such books by Michener and plan to read 'em all. I also thoroughly enjoyed Wilbur Smith's Ballantyne Series of books set in Rhodesia, which is now Zimbabwe.

I dream of reading such historical fiction set in India. They would be so rich and entertaining and enjoyable. More importantly, they would feel so close to heart and soul. Alas! My dream seems to be destined to remain a dream in the absence of any great literary movement in India. Literature in local languages seem to be all but dying away. Moreover, people in India seem to be so bloody insecure. There will invariably be controversies and problems over conflicts and differences that authentic historical research will bring up. This will discourage many authors from being brave and truthful.

I myself want to write a historical book, a series of short stories spread across history and located along the Kaveri river. The introduction to the book will contain the mythological story (or stories) of the birth of the river. My actual first story will be set in Kodagu, the birthplace of Kaveri, and at the oldest point in time. Perhaps it will be the story of a brave Kodava warrior. Then, there will be the popular story set in Talakad, of course. May be I will write the story of Sir M Vishveshwaraiah and the construction of Krishnaraja Sagar dam. There will be a tragic-suicidal story of lovers at Hoganekal falls. May be the heroine of that particular story will be named Kaveri. There has to be a story of violence between Kannnidagas and Tamizhs over Kaveri water. Perhaps a story of spiritual upliftment set in Srirangam. I will follow the river through geography and time, setting each subsequent story at places downriver, at different points of time, until the rivers joins the Bay of Bengal. I would love to write the stories in the local language and dialects. The readers should get a total immersion experience of the river Kaveri by the time they finish the book. With my training (or lack of it) in research and writing, it will be an arduous task.

May be I could make this a project for my (imaginary for now) literature class. Send promising students of my class to different places along the Kaveri, ask them to research the local history and language, come up with stories. At the end of the year, we shall collect the stories together and the class shall go on a long trip visiting places where the stories are set. In each of these places we shall have story narrations, plays, etc. We will make a documentary of our project. We will also make a TV series of the stories, in the authentic local dialects. Nice dream.