KOCHI: Athief who struggles to break away from his father’s legacy of petty thievery. A professor who believes in ancient texts and their scientific mastery. The latter, armed with ‘Chorashastra’, a manuscript that might as well be the Bible for thieves, decides to test the theories of the book on the thief who breaks into his house one night. Under the professor’s eagle eyes, the thief masters the art of opening a lock by solely looking at it.
Author V J James’s second book, ‘Chorashastram’ which was published in 2002 in Malayalam has now hit bookshelves as ‘Chorashasthra: The Subtle Science of Thievery’, translated by Morley J Nair and published under Westland’s language imprint, Eka. A recipient of the Malayattoor Prize (1999), DC Silver Jubilee Award, Rotary Literary Award for ‘Purappadinte Pusthakam’, O V Vijayan Award and Thikkurissi Award for ‘Anticlock’, Thoppil Ravi Award, Kerala Bhasha Institute Basheer Award and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Basheer Puraskaram and Valayar Award for ‘Nireeshwaran’, James’s ‘Chorashastra’ remains an unparalleled piece. Express spoke to the author who’s currently working at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
‘Chorashastra’ weaves multiple ancient sciences into the protagonist’s thievery adventures. How did the idea of such an intriguing subject manifest itself?
I chanced upon the term ‘chorashastram’ (the science of thievery) in a library at ISRO. The reference book comprised ancient sciences formulated by Acharya Kanakashakti. Astonishingly, I found that Lord Subramanya was the presiding deity of thievery. Though I was intrigued by the concept, I did not imagine writing a novel on the same. A week later, when my wife and daughter were away on vacation and I was alone, I happened to hear noises and thought thieves were trying to break in through my front door.
As I shone the torch onto the lock, a flash of light fell on the same, enlightening me on the what-ifs to open a lock by just looking at it. There were no thieves at home but I wrote ‘Chorashastram’ that night. The novel is distinct as it never had a framework. All my questions on the deity were answered in ‘Chorashastram’.
Were you apprehensive when Morley J Nair came to you regarding the translation of the book?
‘Chorashastra’ contains several terms in local parlance -- there is a definite play on words, poetry and the jokes are best understood in the regional language. I was worried that this would be lost in translation. So I conveyed my concerns to Morley and the editor who worked very hard on the English version. When a book such as ‘Chorashastra’ is translated, there are prerequisites such as the translator must be a fine writer himself, equipped with the knowledge of Kerala’s culture. Meanwhile, translation attempts of my other novels are under way.
Of late, do you see a trend of a rising number of regional stories being translated?
Definitely. It is fascinating to know other cultures and folklore without boundaries. Currently, there is excellent potential for translated books. Those of Benyamin and K R Meera are primary examples.
Is there a difference between V J James, a man of science and V J James, a man of literature?
Science is my medium professionally. It is a time-bound work. But when I get back home, I have writing or literature to support and balance the former. They complement each other. I was able to write my novels ‘Chorashastram’ and ‘Laika’ only because I work at ISRO. Library reference books at the same were a launchpad for my books. As an engineer, I always look for technical perfection -- the same contributes to literature and makes it perfect.You’ve written seven novels and 65 short stories – all works of fiction. Have you ever considered writing non-fiction?
Plenty of people write on technical and philosophical issues directly. I encompass the same under fiction. For example, my book ‘Nireeshwaran’ which won awards contains philosophy and science. ‘Chorashastra’ itself ends in philosophy but isn’t visibly evident. I’m personally interested in a trend which blends it all and can be read by the common man. Hence, I chose fiction.
What are you currently reading?
‘Homo Deus: A brief history of tomorrow’ by Yuval Noah Harari and ‘The Ivory Throne’ by Manu S Pillai. And of course, plenty of Malayalam books await in my library.