Too often in these days of mob justice, the punishment for a crime serves to massage the egos of the offended, rather than to set things right. Set in a small Kerala village, Unni R's novel The Cock is the Culprit is a modern-day slice of life that brings universal truths to mind.
The book begins with a posse of policemen making their way, through village streets, to the hut of a 90-year-old woman, Naaniyamma. They attempt to rouse the woman to question her, but she doesn’t hear them, since she’s deaf.
Eventually, the police leave, but not before the whole village has gathered to see what’s up. No one seems to be speaking up for Naaniyamma or protesting the incursion. Disturbed by the harassment, Kochukuttan, the village plumber, tries to understand the reason for the incident. It turns out the complaint was filed by a neighbour against Naaniyamma's rooster.
The neighbour, nicknamed Chaaku by the villagers, was conducting a nationalistic gathering, when the rooster suddenly crowed loudly and interrupted it. How dare a lowly creature butt into a gathering of such importance? And so, the complaint.
The rooster, meanwhile, isn’t idle after this escapade—he shows up at temple aartis, at church meetings, at Independence Day celebrations—never seen but heard loudly enough to ruin the mood. The self-importance of the villagers is threatened by the mocking interloper. Kochukuttan alone seems to raise his voice against this blaming of the rooster, but though he is silently supported by a few, no one helps him. Instead, he is at the receiving end of some of the blame, endangering his plans for the future.
We start out this novel laughing at the pompousness of the villagers—but the humour makes way for unease as the story proceeds. After all—would not an outsider look at our society, our petty contests and jealousies, the all-too-familiar story of finding easy targets for frustrations, and feel the same unease? By the time we are done, unease has made way for sadness and inevitability. The male ego will brook no argument, it seems, even if the punishment falls on the powerless and innocent.
The accomplished translator, J Devika, handles her subject beautifully—from her choice of the title’s translation, to maintaining the balance between the village lingo and the universal pathos of the story. Part of the reason this reviewer was interested in the book was the translator’s credentials!
Although short, this is a well-realised book and contains multitudes. By way of the various people in the village, Unni brings out the latent hierarchy in society. We would do well to remember that the cock could be the culprit anywhere in India.