Caravan to Tibet
Deepa
Agarwal’s Caravan to Tibet is set in
the 19th century in the mountainous regions of India and Tibet. 14-year old
Debu becomes the youngest member of a caravan of traders to undertake the
dangerous journey to Tibet, for he is in search of his father who went missing
almost a year ago in a blinding snowstorm. Debu has many adventures along the
way, including being kidnapped by a band of robbers and participating in a
horse race. He is also pitted against the obnoxious and malevolent Trilok
Singh, the man who might be his future stepfather, according to the custom of levirate
marriage followed by the Shauka community. The book is both a work of historical
fiction as well as a coming-of-age narrative. It was nominated for the IBBY Award.
Much
of the book is about the process of the boy becoming a man, a long, testing and
tough process that highlights the conventional notion of manhood. Debu ceases
being a ‘mere’ child and becomes a man when he develops and displays courage,
self-control and daring. Being a man is not determined by one’s age, education
or intellectual achievements but by physical strength, ability to fight, handle
a weapon and survive a crisis. His strength and generosity of spirit are
foregrounded via an obnoxious character like Trilok; his self-control and
marksmanship are highlighted against the temperamental and moody robber chief;
and his skill at negotiating is pitted against the imperious and haughty
Garphan whose word cannot be countermanded.
Caravan
is written in the style of a traditional hero story – a young boy goes out
on a quest or journey generally looking for something of great value which
could prove to be life-changing and encounters a number of adventures en
route, and finally emerges victorious.
A
problem I have with this otherwise beautifully written book is that it is unable to
subvert the conditions of historical fiction. History has traditionally been
about the male and within Caravan continues to be so. The narration
tells us that in the harsh environs of the mountains, only the strong, brave,
shrewd and enterprising individual will survive. But by locating these
qualities in a male hero and not giving any space in the narrative to a female
hero, Caravan implies that to survive and prosper, one must be either a male
or identify oneself as male. To be female is to be at a disadvantage as with
Debu’s mother who is not even named in the narrative, and is completely
ignorant of her husband’s financial affairs; she fears having to marry Trilok
according to the customs of her community but lacks the ability to protest
against it. The book reiterates the male perspective that the world is for the
man, that boys should grow up into men and that women are secondary and lack agency.