Why should you read “The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy? - Laura Wright

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Krivokuća

“A few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes/

„Nekoliko sati može uticati na konačan ishod više života

And that when they do, those few dozen hours,

a kada se to desi, neophodno je tih nekoliko sati,

like the salvaged remains of a burned clock…

sličnih ostacima ugljenisanog sata...

must be resurrected from the ruins and examined.”

izbaviti iz ruševina i pažljivo ispitati.”

This is the premise of Arundhati Roy’s 1997 novel "The God of Small Things."

Ovo je glavna ideja romana iz 1997. godine „Bog malih stvari” od Arundati Roj.

Set in a town in Kerala, India called Ayemenem,

Smeštena u gradu Ajmenem u državi Kerala u Indiji,

the story revolves around fraternal twins Rahel and Estha,

priča se bavi životom brata i sestre, blizanaca, Rahel i Este,

who are separated for 23 years after the fateful few dozen hours

koji su razdvojeni na 23 godine nakon kobnih nekoliko sati

in which their cousin drowns, their mother’s illicit affair is revealed,

u kojima se njihova rođaka utopila,

otkrivena je zabranjena afera njihove majke, a njen ljubavnik je ubijen.

and her lover is murdered.

While the book is set at the point of Rahel and Estha’s reunion,

Iako se knjiga bavi trenutkom ponovnog susreta Rahel i Este,

the narrative takes place mostly in the past, reconstructing the details

pripovedanje je uglavnom smešteno u prošlost i rekonstruiše detalje

around the tragic events that led to their separation.

u vezi sa tragičnim događajima zbog kojih su razdvojeni.

Roy’s rich language and masterful storytelling

Rojin bogati jezik i majstorsko pripovedanje

earned her the prestigious Booker prize for "The God of Small Things."

obezbedili su joj prestižnu Bukerovu nagradu za „Boga malih stvari”.

In the novel, she interrogates the culture of her native India,

U romanu preispituje kulturu svoje rodne Indije,

including its social mores and colonial history.

uključujući društvene običaje i kolonijalnu istoriju.

One of her focuses is the caste system,

Jedna od tema na koje se fokusirala je kastinski sistem,

a way of classifying people by hereditary social class

tj. način klasifikovanja ljudi prema nasleđenoj društvenoj klasi

that is thousands of years old.

koja je hiljadama godina stara.

By the mid-20th century,

Do sredine XX veka,

the original four castes associated with specific occupations

prvobitne četiri kaste povezane sa naročitim zanimanjima

had been divided into some 3000 sub-castes.

su podeljene na nekih 3 000 podkasti.

Though the caste system was Constitutionally abolished in 1950,

Iako je kastinski sistem ustavom ukinut 1950. godine,

it continued to shape social life in India,

nastavio je da oblikuje društveni život u Indiji,

routinely marginalizing people of lower castes.

rutinski marginalizujući ljude iz nižih kasti.

In the novel, Rahel and Estha have a close relationship with Velutha,

U romanu, Rahel i Esta imaju prisan odnos sa Velutom,

a worker in their family’s pickle factory

radnikom iz njihove porodične fabrike kornišona

and member of the so-called “untouchable” caste.

i pripadnikom takozvane kaste nedodirljivih.

When Velutha and the twins’ mother, Ammu, embark on an affair,

Kada Veluta i majka blizanaca Amu započnu ljubavnu aferu,

they violate what Roy describes as the “love laws”

krše ono što Roj opisuje „zakonima ljubavi”

forbidding intimacy between different castes.

koji zabranjuju intimnost između različitih kasta.

Roy warns that the tragic consequences of their relationship

Roj upozorave da će tragične posledice njihove veze

“would lurk forever in ordinary things,” like “coat hangers,” “the tar on roads,”

„zauvek vrebati u svakodnevnim stvarima”, poput „ofingera”, „katrana na putevima”,

and “the absence of words.”

i „odsustva reči”.

Roy’s writing makes constant use of these ordinary things,

Roj u svom pisanju stalno koristi ove svakodnevne stvari,

bringing lush detail to even the most tragic moments.

obogaćujući obiljem detalja čak i najtragičnije trenutke.

The book opens at the funeral of the twins’ half-British cousin Sophie

Knjiga počinje sahranom polubritanske rođake blizanaca, Sofi,

after her drowning.

nakon što se utopila.

As the family mourns, lilies curl and crisp in the hot church.

Dok je porodica oplakuje, ljiljani se suše i drobe u vreloj crkvi.

A baby bat crawls up a funeral sari.

Mladi šišmiš se sklupčava u pogrebni sari.

Tears drip from a chin like raindrops from a roof.

Suze se cede sa brade poput kišnih kapi sa krova.

The novel forays into the past to explore the characters’ struggles

Roman zadire u prošlost kako bi istražio teškoće likova

to operate in a world where they don’t quite fit,

da funkcionišu u svetu u koji se baš i ne uklapaju,

alongside their nation’s political turmoil.

kao i politička previranja njihovog naroda.

Ammu struggles not to lash out at her beloved children

Amu se bori da ne iskali bes na svoju voljenu decu

when she feels particularly trapped in her parents’ small-town home,

kada se oseti naročito zarobljenom u malenom domu njenih roditelja

where neighbors judge and shun her for being divorced.

gde je komšije osuđuju i izbegavaju jer je razvedena.

Velutha, meanwhile, balances his affair with Ammu and friendship with the twins

Veluta, pak, žonglira aferom sa Amu i prijateljstvom sa blizancima,

not only with his employment to their family,

ne samo zato što je zaposlen u njihovoj porodici,

but also with his membership to a budding communist countermovement

već i zbog članstva u rastućem komunističkom pokretu

to Indira Ghandi’s “Green Revolution.”

suprotstavljenom „zelenoj revoluciji” Indire Gandi.

In the 1960s, the misleadingly named “Green Revolution”

Tokom 1960-ih, varljivo nazvana „zelena revolucija”

introduced chemical fertilizers and pesticides

je uvela hemijska đubriva i pesticide,

and the damming of rivers to India.

kao i izgradnju brana na indijskim rekama.

While these policies produced high-yield crops that staved off famine,

Iako je ova politika rezultirala visokim prinosom žitarica, čime je izbegnuta glad,

they also forced people from lower castes off their land

takođe je proterala ljude iz nižih kasta sa njihove zemlje

and caused widespread environmental damage.

i uzrokovala je raširenu štetu po okolinu.

When the twins return to Ayemenem as adults,

Kada se blizanci vrate u Ajmenem kao odrasli,

the consequences of the Green Revolution are all around them.

posledice zelene revolucije su svuda oko njih.

The river that was bursting with life in their childhood

Reka koja je bujala životom u njihovom detinjstvu

greets them “with a ghastly skull’s smile, with holes where teeth had been,

pozdravlja ih „avetinjskim osmehom bezube lobanje

and a limp hand raised from a hospital bed.”

i dizanjem mlitave ruke sa bolničke postelje.”

As Roy probes the depths of human experience,

Roj preispituje dubine ljudskog iskustva,

she never loses sight of the way her characters are shaped

nikada ne gubeći iz vida način na koji su njeni likovi oblikovani

by the time and the place where they live.

vremenom i prostorom u kome žive.

In the world of "The God of Small Things,"

U svetu romana „Bog malih stvari”,

“Various kinds of despair competed for primacy…

„Različite vrste očajanja se bore za preimućstvo...

personal despair could never be desperate enough...

lično očajanje nikada ne može da bude dovoljno očajno...

personal turmoil dropped by at the wayside shrine of the vast, violent, circling,

lični nemir, skrenuvši s puta, kroči u hram golemog, silovitog, uskovitlanog,

driving, ridiculous, insane, unfeasible public turmoil of a nation.”

olujnog, besmislenog, suludog, nepojmljivog,

javnog nemira jednog naroda.”