The Mahakaal Trilogy trepizes along past, present and future of mankind and represents Anand’s travel from darkness to light, from despair to hope, and from hell to heaven.
Lustus, the monstrous creation of Book I knows how to make a Macbeth out of every human being, and how to suck his wisdom. Two cosmic wars between the gods and the devils have already been fought in which the angels had a narrow escape. With the close of the Book II, ‘The Dominion of the Netherworld’, Lustus has been exiled and now, world is ripe for a new beginning.
The Prologue to Book III, ‘The Ultronic Age’ says:
Gods, thy poet prays,
Let men rest their foolish pranks.
Their pride, their lust, their passion,
And ambitious glide into the void of Reason.
Let no Macbeth kill Duncan now.
Let no Hamlet dangle between this and that.
Bring an end to the Plague which heckled Oedipus.
Turn Kind on your population.
Let them live in the light of knowledge and wisdom,
And recreate Heaven on this Earth.
Gods now decide that, henceforth, men shall not be the masters of the universe, because they have seen the leadership role accorded to men had led to several great wars, like the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and Troy.
The gods now decide to hand over the ‘Neo Aden’ to a woman, Queen Ultronia, blessed by Goddess Saraswati. In this Ultronian world, some genetic changes have been made. Women have a height of 6 feet plus whereas men are 5 feet plus. It is a crimeless society. Lustus University have been sent into ruins. Young students opt for the most coveted service, Ultronia Creative Service over the Ultronia Administrative Service.
The two major changes are: the economic disparities have been removed. The Village Head ensures that the land of the village is equally divided, each family is fed, and each child receives the education he or she deserves, failing which he faces execution. Women can work for two or three hours, but they are paid full salaries. Those who stay at home and take care of kids, are also paid full salaries. There is an SSIN, a soul to soul internet network which makes it possible to communicate without even using the mobile. Ultronia is a post-technology world. Technology has been made subservient to the needs of creation. Nature is revered, trees worshipped, waters and winds given due respect, because they are the benefactors and the sustainers of life and the civilization. There is no cruelty to animals, or birds. Love is the cardinal virtue. Lovers get registered after which they can live together. Marriage is optional, and takes place only after six years of probation in love. If couples want to separate, the government ensures that the kids do not suffer in any way. Ultronia lives in close proximity to nature, and on every happy occasion, people plant trees to ensure a healthy and harmonious environment.
The eleven cantos represent Anand’s vision of an ideal society under the reign of Queen Ultronia. In the ‘Neo-Aden’, the inhabitants are neither in a state of ignorance nor in the pre-knowledge state.
Empowered with ‘original intelligence’, they are in the state of true innocence, a new world akin to ‘Satyuga’, where no saint or sage is required to keep the people on the right track. Anand skilfully uses the techniques of ‘Whisper,’ ‘Cut In’, ‘Video grabs,’ ‘Flashbacks,’ to foreground structural and stylistical experimentation in the techno-savvy society.
Dr. Tamali Neogi, comparing it with Spencer’s ‘Faire Queen’ remarks that Ultronian literature raises hope that mankind may attain the alternate society of Ultronia in the near future, and she looks at this work as the new trend setter for futuristic literature, also characterized as Jernopia by Dr. Molly Joseph.
We have to agree with Dr. Basudeb Chakraborti that on many occasions, Anand appears to be Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound and the poem is an experience of Anand’s spiritual relocation from the real to the ideal.
Dr. Shiv Sethi is a renowned author, critic and reviewer.
