"மூன்றாம் உலகப்போர்" - Moondram Ulagappor - A novel by Tamil Poet Vairamuthu

It has been several years since I touched on a fiction novel; I have always thought the fictitious days were over for me, but always had an open mind when it comes to master story tellers like Dan Brown. I chose to read "மூன்றாம் உலகப்போர்" just to fuel my veneration for Mr Vairamuthu, his literary abilities and the "widely talked about" theme that the novel was based on. Beyond his mastery over the language which is unparalleled among his contemporaries (Poet Late. Mr.Vaali is not one of them) , I have always enjoyed his thoughtful and well researched tidbits that he sprinkles to his speeches, writings and even songs.

This novel was an absolute pleasure to read and Mr Vairamuthu has literally packed a pile of very useful facts and thought provoking pro-environment arguments within this fiction tale. On my scale, I have no hesitation to say that the book is about 60% non-fiction. It's just the backdrop of the story that's a remote Tamil Nadu village, rest of it is truly world class and deserve a global audience and reach. Though I am not sure of other Tamil books that deal with Global Warming and Environmental Protection, I would say that this book for sure, a Tamil contribution to the world's burning topic of these times. I am not a literary critic nor am I scholarly-enough to review or assess the poet's stand on the topic but this entry is all about my adulation to his work and my applause in words for Mr Vairamuthu for joining the league of "gadflies" in the endeavor to leave the next generation a safer planet to live-in.

He brings in facts from his research which are truly enlightening

• + 2 Deg C Mean surface temperature of earth means an irreversible impact to the planet's equilibrium of climate sensitivity
• Now there is a growing market for fans and air conditioners at the states adjacent to Himalayas (coldest valley in India) which is unimaginable
• Food scarcity(starvation) kills people in 3rd world countries; but in India, food producers(farmers) kill themselves [ Maharashtra state's Vidharbha district]
• By 2050, world's population will go up by a whopping 230 million people; but as of now world's food production has comedown to 1% from the previous 3%
• 0.3 million people die due to the effects of global warming every year

Cutting a thin-line between philosophy, intellect and literary aesthetics, the Poet discusses ideas that leave you spellbound instantly turning your thinking lights "ON"

"What's the success of a bird?" he asks before you think, here comes the response

"வானத்தின் மொத்த பரப்பையும் மறக்கடித்து விட்டுத் தன்னை மட்டுமே கவனிக்கச் செய்யும் தந்திரத்தில் இருக்கிறது ஒரு பறவையின் வெற்றி"

Here's how he sees and describes world's largest democracy

மொத்தம் 3 இந்தியா 

முதல் இந்தியா - அயல்நாட்டு வங்கிகளின் அந்தப்புரங்களில் 

இரண்டாம் இந்தியா  - வளர்ந்து வரும் நகர்ப்புறங்களில் 

மூன்றாம் இந்தியா - வளராத கிராமப் புறங்களில் 

The way he narrates the recipe and the cooking style with which Chittamma makes Rasam and it's ingredients, Rasam has become by favorite course in the meal, now-a-days. 

He reminds us all about how India's landscape is unique and special

"உயர்ந்த பூமி உங்கள் பூமி; பூகம்பத்தால் நொறுங்காத - எரிமலையால் வெந்து போகாத - சுனாமியால்  சூறையாடப்படாத பூமி இது"

He tells us the story of the super-phosphate fertilizers from the post second world war days and makes us blink in awe and shocks us.

"இன்று மூன்றாம் உலகநாடுகள் விற்பனைக்கு வருகின்றன. விவசாயத்துக்கு வழியில்லாத வளைகுடா நாடுகள் வளைத்து போடுகின்றன வளரும் நாடுகளை"

He cites these examples - 

1. Qatar has bought out 25000 villages in Pakistan's Panjab state to setup it's agro farming.
2. Saudi Arabia has bought out 16 million hectares of lands from Indonesia to meet it's agro needs. 

I thought these were mere fictitious facts to spice up the story and looking up on the Wiki proved me wrong and such a shocking revelations are all over this book. Land Grabbing by rich countries

Not just that he educates but slaps us often like this.

Q : What do you think that's so pathetic about India?

A: "அமிர்தம் போன்ற இளநீரை ஆறு ரூபாய்க்கு விற்று விட்டு பன்னிரண்டு  ரூபாய்க்கு கோக் குடிக்கும் கூட்டம் பார்த்து"

There is more and more. It deserves multiple reads and post-reading analysis, research and most of all, our response and action. Read it if you can read Tamil and want to try and leave your kids, a better planet to live.