An overview of Ramakrishna Dulam’s Short story –
Delirium
By Rajesh kumar Saduneni
Delirium is a heart-rending short story written by Ramakrishna Dulam. The
writer tries to explore the pathetic conditions of Tamil fishermen families
settled in a sea side village of Srilanka. This heart-wrenching story is set in
Kotna village of Srilanka.
The central character is Rasaathi, wife of Kuppuswamy, a fisherman and
mother of two year old child Raji. The story is told in the third person point
of view. The writer begins the story with the description of horrific
atmosphere prevailed in Kotna village and employs excellent visual imagery to
give a sense of horror . The line “ It was a full moon night; the dark
sea-water shimmered in the moon light.” is the
perfect example of his visual imagery. The literary technique personification
is also visible in this story.. As the villagers felt lonely and helpless while
sailing to their homeland with uncertainty, the writer personified the moon as
their companion- “ the moon
seemed to be their only companion, accompanying them as if were on their
journey into an unpredictable future”. Innocence, helplessnesss,anguish,terror,
hunger,sacrifice,love and conflict are
superbly conveyed through the characters. Sea and Hut are prime symbols
employed by the writer. The vast sea represents life and its hardships and hut
as a place of attachment, which Rasaathi had emotional bond and had memories of
life spent with her husband. “Rasaathi stood unfixed unable to leave the hut that
she shared for so long with her husband..”
The writer brought out the genocide in the island, the issue is
universal in nature. We see deliberate killing of an ethnic group in
Myanmar,Iraq and Syria.
The Story is worth reading. The title is apt. The fear psychosis created
by the Lankan troops had long lasting impact on the lives of Tamil fishermen.
The story focuses on the life of Rasaathi, wife of Kuppusawamy.
Kuppuswamy ventures into the sea along with his fellow villagers for fishing as
usual.But, he is brutally killed by the state police, of his no fault. Murugan
and other villagers compels Rasaathi to leave the village with them and board
the boat to their homeland. She reluctantly boarded the boat just to save her
child Raji.. During the journey she drinks salty water of sea as she has no
milk in her breast to feed her baby. The irony is the sea which had been the
source of their bread and butter had taken the lives of Rasaathi and Raji.
Click the below link for the short story published in Muse India the literary ejournal- Issue 85(May-June 2019)
http://www.museindia.com/Home/AuthorContentDataViewdelirium short story
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