Fire Bird by Perumal Murugan translated by Janani Kannan

Fire Bird by Perumal Murugan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The lovely narrative belies what the title Fire Bird - aalanthaapatchi - seems to imply – that this is the story of a virago

She hates the very scent of a man. Like an aalanthaapatchi, a fire bird, she never let anyone come close to her even when she lived here. She flies in quest of human flesh, picking up the trace of a man or woman. If you are not careful, she will use her words to pierce your skin and feed on your flesh.

It is a story of a pioneering farming family, narrated with a bucolic touch, with a spiritual flavour that is in close touch with nature.

In response, the men yelled back, hit them, ran after them and caused a big commotion. To Muthu, it was like watching a murder of crows cawing and fighting amongst each other.

Sometimes only one bird sang. When that bird stopped, the next one started to sing. Sometimes the two sing together without a pause. She felt there was a meaning to all that and began to try to decipher their sounds.
The first gruff voice that was loud must be a male bird, she decided. The voice that was soft and subtle was a female’s. Every morning they would discuss their agenda for the day. ‘You go in this direction looking for food, I will go in the other direction. Before the heat rises, you must bring back a bug or worm or a piece of corn. We will meet up later. Shall we wager on who is going to bring more food? Until I return, you must remain in the nest. You can go after me, I will then take care of our things…’ That was what paati imagined their conversations to be like.

Beautifully translated, although I wish there was a glossary of the names of the trees, plants and the various food items... And is there really a bird by this name or just a descriptive term?

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