The Fires at Perahera
The Fires at Perahera is a novel
whose setting is the magnificent Esala Perahera
held annually at Kandy in Sri Lanka in July/August
each year. This festival, one of Sri Lanka’s
major annual ritualistic celebrations, pays
homage to the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha
that is believed to bestow prosperity and
succor providing rainfall to the island and
its people. The festival brings together
a sea of humanity who crowd the narrow winding
streets of Kandy and participate mesmerized
in a frenzy of splendidly decorated elephants,
torch bearers, drummers, priests, dancers,
musicians, whip crackers, flag bearers, bands
and flame throwers.
Pitted against this backdrop is elephant
and man, the caretaker and the terrorist,
the reconciled and the violently restless.
It is a story of one momentous night
when these forces are unexpectedly brought
face to face and are forced to confront
each other. The faceless multitudes become
frozen bystanders as amid the loud, all
encompassing din man and beast are pitted
against each other. Each must overcome
doubts, apprehensions and distractions
to look at the other squarely in the
eye. Even as a million pairs of eyes
are upon them urging on the drama of
entangled destinies.
One is the destiny of the mighty Asian
elephant, awe inspiring and revered,
but in reality reduced to a life of servile,
semi domesticity as his habitat is savagely
encroached and curtailed. The other is
the destiny of the terrorist blinded
by an undimmed hatred seeking a defining
burst of perverse glory. Both are brought
face to face amid a crescendo of cymbals,
their own raging fires inflamed by the
fires of the Perahera all around. The
intensity is too great for both to survive.
The Fires at Perahera was inspired by
Amol Titus’ visit to Sri Lanka
in July 2002 and his unscheduled and
serendipitous experience of the Esala
Perahera in Kandy. The book is slated
for release in December 2006.
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