The Players of Kassaku by Churaumanie Bissundyal. Xlibris. 2003

Reviewed by Seopaul Singh

Through the storyteller Morris Johnson, also known as Dracula, the author takes the reader back into the history of the early development of national leadership of Kassaku before its Independence, and of the intrigues which involved players in Kassaku. The reminiscences were prompted when Bane, the hero of his previous novel The Game of Kassaku, passed more subjects in the GCE exam, but could not get a government job. Dracula or Uncle Drac was toiling under the burning sun. Bane was huller feeder at Ramdhani's rice mill. During a short break, they entered into a dialogue in which, Dracula commented, "I hear you pass more subjects at the GCE exam."

Bane responded, "Yes five more."

Dracula observed, "That's great. So, what are you going to do now? Look for a government job?"

Bane shrugged his shoulders, "That's a problem. Things change up in this country."

It was the changes under the dictatorship in Kassaku which prompted Dracula to tell the story of the players who forged such changes in the political life of Kassaku. He traced the earlier struggles and highlighted the conditions under which the exploitation of the poor sugar workers became the preoccupation of the first player, Russbhakt Singh. He told his audience that Russbhakt was disposed to attend "yajnas-prayer meetings and pujas-rituals, Hanuman Jhandee and Durga Paat", and how his mother exhorted him daily to always be truthful. The festivals did not present to Russbhakt any solution to dealing with the issue of the rampant exploitation of the poor. The exhortations, however, had a lasting impact and may have influenced his entire life.

This novel actually picks up from the former, The Game of Kassaku, which presented a commonplace contest within a community, to a much bigger struggle (over governing the country).

In the The Players of Kassaku the author moved from the countryside farming community to a nationalistic level. Thus, the players were made prominent in the nation and their involvement in the national issues, a life long pursuit. He utilized the medium of the storyteller who promptly focused on the preparation process of the players for their future roles in the nation's ultimate game, the game of politics. He highlighted their upbringing by ambitious parents and how scholarship played an important role in preparing the players for their future.

The storyteller noted that the preoccupation, which bugged the first player from early school days until he migrated to further his education in the USA, was put in its right perspective by a new found love, Sonia. Her family was allegedly under suspicion of spying for the Soviet Union. This progressive young lady showed interest in Russbakht, assisted him and proceeded to help him see his future role among the oppressed workers of his country. This role turned out to be the focus of his political educational pursuit and his later lifelong struggle for the betterment of the people of Kassaku. After completing his studies, Russbhakt returned to Kassaku.

Before his return to Kassaku and despite the caution of his parents, he got married to Sonia. This nearly resulted in his estrangement from the family, especially his mother. But a strange vision changed his mother's mind and Sonia became a much anticipated daughter-in-law. In Kassaku, the two immediately embarked upon the cause the sugar workers of Kassaku. They resolved to devote their lives for the betterment of the conditions under which the workers lived. After the blatant killing of workers in one of the sugar estates, they formed the first national political party to better represent the cause of the oppressed workers. This was the genesis of the PLP which embraced the Communist ideology, and they undertook to fight for the working class solidarity.

The storyteller also shone the spotlight on players from outside the Colony, whose roles in the international struggle was fast dividing the world into two camps – the Capitalist and the Communist. He recounted to the listeners that closer to home, Comrade Russbhakt's major problem surfaced with Comrade Bullhorn, who studied in the same College with him in Kassaku. Bullhorn had gone to England to further his education, leaving his sweetheart Annie behind. The reader got a glimpse into the working of the mind of Bullhorn when on a date before his departure, Annie questioned him about his preference for Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" over "Romeo and Juliet”. He said, "I prefer to be on the other side. I prefer to be the murderer than the murdered." He noted further in their dialogue, "Both Macbeth and Julius Caesar are about murder. But I prefer the bigger murder of Julius Caesar."

In England, loneliness and discrimination issues resulted in Bullhorn entering a marriage of convenience, after falling into dire pecuniary straits. But he was intent in using his wife to accomplish his own goals. On completion of his law degree, Bullhorn also returned to Kassaku, and was failing miserably in the pursuit of his legal profession. In keeping with his ambition, he joined the PLP and quickly aspired to seize its leadership. Russbhakt, however, had won significant power in the Legislative Assembly and had cemented his role as Leader of the PLP. In a later election he won the majority seat in the National Assembly and became the Premier.

Unlike Russbhakt, Bullhorn was an ambitious and ruthless character whose main preoccupation was to become the premier of the Colony. He soon entered into an adulterous relationship with his former love, Annie. This led to an uncontested divorce after which Bullhorn was free to marry Annie who began to spur him on to pursue his political goals. Bullhorn had a dark side aggravated by his disdain for the physical punishment meted out to him at the hands of his father during his boyhood and youthful days. This seemed to trigger the undercurrent of Bullhorn’s motives to take revenge for the slavery of the Africans. Herein one can account for the ruthlessness in Bullhorn's character.

The local players, oblivious of the destabilizing craftsmanship employed in the international arena to destroy the unity and strength of the workers in the Colony, were at odds against a formidable foe. The questions still to be answered were: "Would these native sons be capable of crossing swords with the world's most conniving power brokers? When the battle would have been engaged, would these future national players have a fighting chance against the seasoned veterans of intrigues and manipulation, who were in the game for over half a century before? In the contest, would these native sons be able to rally in togetherness, or would they succumb to the tactics of the masters of exploitation and divide and rule? More specifically did the champion of the exploited have any chance against exploiters?"

The storyteller recounted the General Elections of 1964 which saw a coalition between two opposing parties to oust Russbhakt Singh's party, the PLP. The Coalition, which was soon disbanded, was only a ploy by Bullhorn to establish a minority dictatorship which proceeded to rig elections to maintain a stranglehold on the entire nation. Thereafter the country fell under the vice of a minority Afro-Kassakuian dictatorship and life took a turn for the worse for the poor farming community and the nation at large. So Bane could not get a decent job although he has more that is required for entry into the Government Service.

The author mirrored in the 'fiction state' of Kassaku a picture of the moving story of the struggle for Independence of a former British Colony. On one hand the popular national leader and friend of the workers, a socialist, fought tooth and nail for Kassaku's Independence. On the other hand, his opponent, a Machiavellian schemer, supported by external forces which were arrayed against Communism, was conniving and contriving to steal that Independence, to oust him from Office and to take control the Government thereafter.

The entire novel is a work of fiction, which makes good reading as another perspective on the struggle of former British Colonies for their Independence. The author presented sketches of certain issues which may prove to be controversial to the reader. Nevertheless, the novel makes interesting reading for all those who desire some insights into the history of former Colonies, and the causes of the internal conflicts, which still plague them.