Darkness Conquers

By Dr. Pralhad A. Kulkarni

Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely! Was this reason learn which Lala, a veteran freedom fighter toiled for his motherland, Markatstan? Complete freedom was Lalas dream. He and his followers toiled to gain freedom from Bears. But it was not the end but the beginning of a new epoch. This pure and fertile land, which gave shelter to monkeys, camels, tigers, horses, deer, zebra, giraffe became infected by an irresistible disease CORRUPTION.
Certainly Lala, Raman, Gbur, Roger and others had not sacrificed and fought with Bears for this day! How Lalas dream of an ideal nation shattered, is shown in this political fable.
What is the meaning of freedom? It is behaving as you like? Does freedom give the administration right to exploit its own citizens?
Lala and his followers struggled for freedom, total freedom. But what was the end? We see an end of a dynasty, an end of a culture in this fable.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Jul 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9781482822960

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Copyright © 2014 by Pralhad A. Kulkarni.

ISBN:      Softcover         9781-4828-2297-7

                eBook              9781-4828-2296-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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All characters and situations in this novel are fictional and imaginary. Any resemblance to any person living or dead or any similar real life event or situation is entirely coincidental and unintentional.

Partridge India

000 800 10062 62

www.partridgepublishing.com/india

CONTENTS

PREFACE

I

II

III

IV

V

DEDICATED

TO

AARYA, ADITYA

AND

AVANI

PREFACE

L oharo Wanaro Des , with animals of different kinds, is India, with people from diverse communities. The animals’ struggle for freedom is also reminiscent of Indian Freedom Movement. King Dumong lost Markatstan to the warring bears, as the complacent animals were opposed to fighting. Lala, the visionary leader and his friends from different groups, both moderate and extreme, succeed in awakening the enslaved animals to the call of Freedom. The civil unrest bursts into morchas, bandhs, dharanas and with the sacrifices of such daring natives as Pa, the struggle becomes more intense. Old Zun, the leader of the bears, is compelled to offer ‘Guided Freedom’ which Lala accepts, though Absolute Power was their ultimate goal. The new government is formed with Lala as the Head. Different department portfolios such as Education, Finance, Defence Cooperation are assigned to the trusted companions.

The earlier enthusiasm and idealism, however, get lost, over years, in practical, opportunistic, corrupt practices and in the end, Lala is left to himself, thinking of restructuring the administrative system to control the deteriorating state of affairs. The animals do not have the Absolute Power; so they are not absolutely corrupted. There is some hope that Loharo Wanaro Des will rise above corruption with Lala’s renewed strategic governance. The novel ends on a positive note, suggesting also that there’s hope for today’s India, immersed in corruption, with the advent of a new government with focus on efficient governance.

It’s the animal world, but with distinct human attributes – the Freedom struggle marching ahead with morchas, bandhs, dharanas and Chintan Shibir organized for reviewing policies, the animals greeting one another with ‘Namaste’, wearing shirts, pants, saries and also feeling, thinking like the human beings. The animals are trained in the four human skills; Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing, their leaders are educated in foreign universities. As in the case of the human beings, their names and characters establish their distinct identities. Moreover, the entire administrative system from the human world is transferred to the animal world. Power, as well as the accompanying corruption, in the animal world is also similar to that in the human world.

Darkness Conquers is not a political satire as Animal Farm, though the dictum ‘Not for me but for others’ changed to ‘for me’ as years pass, reminds us of ‘All animals are equal’ extended to ‘But some are more equal’. But, with the similar animal regime, it emerges as a revealing critique of the contemporary social and political life. When we make a sojourn with the novelist in the animal raj, we actually move from the Pre-Independence India ahead to Independence and thence to the Post-Independence India. We move from Darkness ahead, get a few glimpses of Light and are back again to Darkness. But the vision is not pessimistic. The novelist assures us at the close of the novel, Light will soon triumph over Darkness. In communion with Nature, Lala’s idealism will be restored and his revitalized strength will work towards that end.

The novel makes a joyful and also enlightening reading. As the narrative progresses, we get transported to Dr. Kulkarni’s imagined world of animals and Markatstan turns into a sort of wonderland where values like honesty, loyalty, faith, hope, patriotism and freedom are cherished and where Nature is ‘friend, philosopher and guide’ to the distressed. A brilliant work of fictional art!

Prof. (Dr.) Jayprakash A. Shinde

Former Head, Department of English,

Shivaji University, Kolhapur (Maharashtra)

I

I t was a foggy morning; Lala, the aged monkey, was taking his morning exercise in a long stretched meadow with a deep jungle around. He finished his walk and sat under a big tree to relax. He rubbed his eyes and cleaned his face. Sunbeams were crippling on the green grass like a snail. With his half-opened eyes, at a distance, he saw some figures approaching. He could not make them out. He asked Raman, ‘Do you see something there, Raman?’

Raman was three years younger than Lala. He was the leader of the camels. Raman was slim. His eyes were big and exceptionally black. His tail was rather short, yet he could drive flies away by wagging his tail. His neck was long. He was Lala’s close friend. He saw at a distance three figures approaching. He said, ‘Lala, there are three animals coming with palms placed across their eyes, ears, and mouth, respectively.’

Suddenly the earth began to roar, and within a flash of a second, all Loharo Wanaro Des with Lala, Raman, and others went into a big crack in the ground. Dust rose to the sky, and heavy rain began to slash the ground. Soon grave silence prevailed everywhere.

II

L ala was deeply concerned with his motherland, Markatstan (Land of Monkeys). He had been listening to the complaints of the animals. They had been facing many problems, inconveniences in life. He was becoming more and more worried about it. He thought to discuss these things with his colleagues. Hence, one day he called a meeting.

Lala was a lover of nature. He loved deep jungles, green trees, and silence. He always preferred such atmosphere for meetings or discussions. He called elephants, camels, horses, tigers, and deer for the meeting. Gbur, Bku, Athak, Roger, and Neel came respectively for the meeting. Raman was already with Lala. Lala welcomed them all and the discussion began. They discussed the issues of corruption, mismanagement, and the need for unity of all animals. Then they all became more curious to listen