ETHIOPIAN EXPERIENCE : ON THE BANKS OF THE BLUE NILE – A Review

Review :- Prof: P.G.Balakrishnan Nair

Ethiopian Experience is a simple realistic and romantic narration as the author tells else where and that too in the most straight forward manner, in first person is the experience of a young teacher in Ethiopia. It was a time when teachers from India were preferred everywhere abroad especially in the African Countries at the fag end of nineteen sixties to nineteen seventies.
The hero of this novelette Suresh, with his youthful enthusiasm and adventure impressed the members of the interview board and got selected as a teacher under the Ministry of Education in Ethiopia.

Thus he was suddenly thrown from a life of wants to luxury overnight.

With in a few minutes after landing Addis Abbaba. Suresh was confronted by a strange experience. Immediately he could smell the fragrance of a costly perfume and found himself with in the hands of a beautiful lady who imprinted a violent kiss on his very right cheek. Suresh was twenty five at the time, Grown from younger days with no parental care.

Because of youthful propensity he drifted himself into free sex for which he got chances in plenty and within reach on the foreign land.

He enjoyed sex with Damsels and Nymphs of his own profession in the school like Miss Irene and Miss Isabella. There beautiful men and women coming from far-off places became familiar in no time and indulge in sex with no taboo. Suresh did not bother about the customs of his own society. He was practically unconcerned with amorality and cultural standards.

A conventional reader who goes through these lines describing sex may even hesitate to proceed reading further. But the author boldly writes because it is necessitated the imaginary situation demanded by this kind of a novel. Sex is nothing but a natural instinct to most of the people of foreign countries and especially in the dark continent, Africa. For them sexual trespassing is only a behavioral pattern.

But to our relief the story gets a desirable turn at the most opportune moment when Rahel and her mother Sophia came into contact with Suresh. Rahel was enamoured of Suresh to such an extent that she thought of marring him. But Sophia was not agreeable to the proposal on the ground of religious customs. Suresh who was at that time very much dejected happens to meet Lulu a poor boy whom he liked as a brother. The intimacy with Lulu had a magical effect in bringing back peace and harmony to the disturbed mind of Suresh. Together they enjoyed the beauty of Blue Nile which was still then a part of their study of Geography. From the moment on wards Nile to him was felt a part of his life. Nostalgic memories rushed up in his mind. A time of conflict followed within Suresh and he decided to leave the land of Haily Salasy. The timely help from Mekonnen gave him strength to face difficulties.
He came back to his native village and took up the old profession of teaching life went on smoothly almost according to his expectation. But he had his own dreams about marriage and well settled life.

All his dreams were assured when he got married to Susan a beautiful lady quite suitable to him.

During the following days life was celebration of joy and happiness to him.

He was able to realize the unexplored fathoms of pleasures of life with a woman. He was fully convinced that sex is not everything in marriage. But at the same time it is an unavoidable necessity of living beings to produce the offsprings to continue the race for which the husband and wife are made for each other. Mean while his wife Susan had a period of mental suppression and adopted obscure methods of treatment. To add to the calamity Susan finds out a letter send by Rahel to Suresh. In secret this suspicion aggravated the situation which did not continue for long. Finally because of the essential goodness in life the tragical trends turned the way to a happy ending.

This tiny novel proclaims to the world the indefinite glory of love as the guiding spirit of happy marriage and not sex as erroneously understood by many. In short this may be the reason for the world wide acceptance of this offspring novel.
The readability combined with realistic expression is the unique attraction of the masterly creation of this novelette.

Alappuzha
Prof: P.G.Balakrishnan Nair

E.O.Abraham Elenjickal
Tel:0477 – 2235601
Email: abrahamelenjickal@gmail.com