Poonachi: Or the Story of a Black Goat

by Perumal Murugan

There are only five species of animals with which I am deeply familiar. Of them, dogs and cats are meant for poetry. It is forbidden to write about cows or pigs. That leaves only goats and sheep. Goats are problem-free, harmless and, above all, energetic. A story needs narrative pace. Therefore, I’ve chosen to write about goats.

‘Look, she is no ordinary kid. Her mother birthed seven kids in a litter. After she delivered the sixth, I thought it was all over and only the umbilical cord was left. But she contracted her body and pushed hard once more. This one slid out as the seventh and dropped like a piece of dung. She is truly a miracle, look at her,’ the giant said.

‘I don’t know how many more hazards this creature will have to face. Will she overcome all of them or go under? Who knows what is fated for her?’ he mused.

Poonachi practised taking feeble steps towards the front yard and the goat shed. But Kalli’s kids simply couldn’t stand the sight of her. Fed on a plentiful diet of mother’s milk, their hips had become hard and plump, endowing them with a natural swagger. They jumped and leapt about all the time.

They talk about the highs of toddy and liquor, but those are not highs at all. Real intoxication comes from talking. The moment it crosses a limit, we forget everything,’ the old woman lamented.

When they heard that some unknown creature had sneaked in to grab a goat kid, everyone was scared. People queued up to express their concern. Ten years ago, the whole village had turned up at their shed for their daughter’s wedding. After that, nobody had felt the need nor had the time to look them up. And now a goat kid had brought them all this attention.

The regime had the power to turn its own people, at any moment, into adversaries, enemies and traitors.

‘We have to get used to queues.’ ‘We must make queuing a habit.’ ‘It’s important to train ourselves for queues.’ ‘We need queues for everything.’ ‘We must get used to standing in queues.’ ‘We must get used to waiting in queues.’ ‘Queues will make us patient.’ ‘Queues will make us tolerant.’ ‘Must get used to queues.’ ‘Must make queues a habit.’

‘There’s an old saying that the regime is deaf.’ ‘It’s deaf only when we speak about our problems. When we talk about the regime, its ears are quite sharp.’

Poonachi was frightened. Firmly covering her vagina with her tail, she ran away from the spot. She could sense him staring at her now and again as if he wanted to tell her, ‘Just you wait. Do you think you will get away from me?’

‘People keep destroying everything and shoving every last bit into their mouths. How then can anything or anyone survive here apart from human beings? In the end, can even people survive for long?’ she remarked with a sigh.

Through a feat of storytelling that is both masterly and nuanced, Murugan makes us reflect on our own responses to hegemony and enslavement, selflessness and appetite, resistance and resignation, living and dying. Poonachi is not just the story of a goat. Through his exploration of the life journey of an animal, Murugan leads us deep into ‘an intimate history of humanity’ and the irreducible human essence that we must fight to preserve.