Cocoon (Kosla) by Bhalchandra Vanaji Nemade

Cocoon (Kosla) was a path breaking novel. Not only was it revolutionary in terms of the plot employed but also, it broke away from the common linguistic technique applied in novels of that time with the usage of colloquial language and short terse sentences that were used many a times during the latter part of the novel which gave us an idea about the sorrow and the doubts the protagonist went through.

The novel begins with a twenty five year old Pandurang Sangvikar telling us how the only thing worth telling about him is the fact that he is twenty five years old. This he says because in spite of having spent ten- twelve thousand rupees of his father he has never really taken his examinations or future prospects seriously. Besides, he says that having come back after spending years in the city people expect him to walk, talk and dress up in a particular fashion which he doesn’t do. Neither does he take any interest at their farm and the work that it demands. All in all he is a disappointment to his family and society.

It is then that he starts narrating the story of his life. This novel is a complete retelling of the life of Pandu as a student in Pune and what happens after that which compels him to come back to his village and life a life stark opposite of what he and the world had expected of him. It is an honest account of what a youngster went through, his trials and tribulations, the pain of losing his younger sister and the impact all these had on him which drove him into thinking about the meaning of life and the purpose of his existence on earth.

Though it is considered to be a good work of translation by the popular mass, this public opinion must have been generated by the fact that Kosla was the most sought after novel of the 60’s and its translation was awaited for a long time which clouded their critical mind from seeing the shortcomings of the book. Some of these inadequacies are not entirely the translator’s fault though. For example, every name listed in Pandu’s college life has a deeper connotation to it. Surnames are implications of the caste and creed of any person born on Indian soil. A reader in Marathi will immediately know the background of the person in question while to the one for whom Marathi is foreign, its meaning is lost. The way the name of the addressed person is distorted is also another feature that the reader may not be accustomed to. By this Pandu becomes Pandya; Mangesh, Mangya and so forth, something which in Marathi is called ‘apabhraunsh’.

There are instances in the latter half of the novel where a lot of local village customs and rites have been spoken about. To someone who is not familiar to such things it may sound absurd to the extend foolish which is why I think sufficient footnotes had to be given along with the cultural context. In some parts, the translation makes no sense. For example, what is ‘baingan ka bharta’ has been translated as ‘brinjal mess’! When he has not translated words like ‘bhaji’, then why bother translating ‘baigan ka bharta’? There is another occasion where the word ‘battery’ is used which is the word many Maharashtrians employ to call a torch. No such thing is mentioned.

Pandu has talked about going to a Madras Café many times in the initial part of the novel. In the Marathi version it is called the Madras Hotel. The concept of café is still quite novel in India. Therefore the use of the word ‘café’ sounds anachronistic when translating a text from the 60’s. Kosla as a novel was appreciated because of its novelty. This newness seems to be absent in the English version. The quest of the writer simply cannot be felt.

We can see the gradual change in Pandu through the language used in every section. In the beginning before moving to the city the language is typical of the village he is from. Later as he starts living in the city he starts speaking in a more standardized Marathi which is called Puneri Marathi. Towards the end, especially after the death of his sister his words become very philosophical in nature.

The death of his sister Mani is one of the most disturbing episodes in the novel. She suffered much before she finally gave up. Because of the blisters on her body, even inside her eyes and throat she gradually lost all her senses. What is written next is something that can be subjected to many questions regarding how she died. “And two days later, without so much as washing or laving her body, they buried her outside the village. And with her they buried everything that had touched her bed. The schoolbag, her bed sheet—everything.” From this statement it is not even clear if she died first or they buried her alive. This sentence is perhaps the most disturbing statement in the novel. Pandu was broken after he learnt of how his little sister’s last few days were and the way she was treated. Even her memories were not allowed to linger in the house. He couldn’t believe how callous the members of his family could be.

Mani’s death shook him a lot. He got into a frenzy because of his rage. He didn’t know why he was so angry but he simply needed to vent it out. We see him temporarily going into a phase of madness at this point of time. “I bought a flame-yellow sari such as little girls wear. Cut it up into shreds. Then I lit them up one by one. In that blaze I burned my hands. Then—I emptied my inkpot on the floor and cooled my burning hands in the ink. Staining my hands again and again I marked paw prints all over—on the pillow, mattress, table, books and notebooks, the door, window, on the walls.”

The novel takes a turn from here onwards. Not only does Pandu lose interest in Literature and debate which he had acquired a taste for but he also loses touch with the world. His alienation is a modernist concept. His sole quest is to find meaning in life. He had come to the city to find what he couldn’t get in the village but he went back to the village in the hope that someday he might find answers to what he couldn’t find in the city.

At home he was not of much help to his family as he showed a total lack of interest in helping his father at the farm. If ever he did work for his father he did his tasks without enthusiasm. He couldn’t make his father proud and was not ashamed about it. His father’s attitude towards him however was a lot better from how it was in the beginning. He began to show his son some love in the hope that his son would understand the burden of the responsibilities that fell on his shoulders after his father’s death.

In the end Pandu comes to terms with the way the world around him works. He still does not accept it but he learns to tolerate it. This is evident by the fact that he says that he’ll do everything that is asked of him. He would not complain and quietly do it since he knows that ultimately the world will make him do what it wants him to do.