HYDERABAD: Ummath’ is a result of Sri Lankan author Sharmila Seyyid’s struggles in a society wrought with religious fundamentalism. Originally written in Sri Lankan Tamil by Sharmila Seyyid and translated into English by Gita Subramanian, it follows the stories of three girls, Yogalakshmi, Thawakkul, and Theivanei. While Yogalakshmi (or Yoga) and Theivanei are former Tamil Tigers who fought for a separate Tamil state, Thawakkul is a social worker who works for the rehabilitation of women affected by the war. How society and family treats each one of these women is the story.
Sharmila Seyyid is known for her outspoken and critical social commentaries. She makes use of her experience growing up in a Sri Lankan Muslim community where girls “are supposed to be homely” and pours it into this novel. Sharmila talks about topics that will stun people, even disgust many but the saddest part of it is that these parallel stories of heartbreak, social emancipation, and poverty could be true. They might have happened to anyone, given the circumstances at that time.
Sharmila outlines a well-articulated description and critique of how the fight for a Tamil Eelam quickly degenerated into a communal fight. Senseless killings on both sides, ‘ethnic cleansing’, fighters in the Eelam movement quickly turning into pariahs, family turning against family, Muslim men threatening Muslim women for doing social work for women, and on the whole a sense of blatant hypocrisy. There is no argument that can be made against the re-insertion of former Tamil Tigers, who surrendered once they realised the gravity of the situation.
However, the biggest subject described in Ummath that will resonate across the world is the rampant misogyny. The fight between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Army is a local one, though present globally in different forms. But misogyny is everywhere, plain and raw for the world to see and ignore. “Get married and serve the man.” Or “Your husband likes this dish. So learn to cook it.” These are statements that most women across the world have heard in some variation. And to read these in a grave situation as the aftermath of the Sri Lankan Civil War makes it all the more worse.
‘Ummath’, despite its not-so-perfect translation, has the capacity to tug at the heart-strings and break it. Perhaps it is the lack of perfection that makes it so. From sorrow to anger to disgust, every emotion grips and clings in a manner that is difficult to shake off. It is not merely a social commentary on the lives of Sri Lankan Muslim women and ex-Tamil Tigers. ‘Ummath’ is the story of every woman who had a choice and chose right every single time.
Publisher: Harper Perennial Price: Rs 499