Analysis of “The Return” by K. S. Maniam

The Return by K. S. Maniam is a story about Ravi, the narrator, based roughly on Maniam himself. Ravi comes from a third-generation Indian immigrant family in Malaya who feels lost in the conflict between cultures. Though this novel is believed to be largely autobiographical, there are three main characters in the novel; Ravi (the author), Periathai (the author’s grandmother), and Naina (the author’s father).

In a chapter of his book, Andrew Ng provides his insights on Periathai and Naina. Throughout the text, Ng draws on Hindu symbolism by describing Periathai and Naina as representations of a Hindu conception amounting to victory over insurmountable forces which is a common feature of Hindi/Tamil movies. He also discusses the paradox in Maniam’s writings of “rooting” (pp. 107) spiritually and transcendentally to a land in which immigrants cannot otherwise find a sense of belonging.

In the novel, Periathai endures hardship as she struggles to create cultural reconstruction in a new land. In all her adversities, it is her faith in her religion, the ritualism and various performances of austerity that keeps her resolute and provides her with the ferocious will to survive and a sense of belonging.

According to Ng, Periathai’s desire to build a house is not merely based on the need for physical belonging, but also as a manifestation of her faith. Ravi views her unhomely death as failure. In contrast, Ng believes that it is a symbol of liberation and transcendence; a culmination of her devotion and the liberation of her beautiful soul into oneness with the Divine.

Before surrendering completely to her disease, one of her last gestures is an act of worship before her Nataraja statue. Ravi views this act as failure of the deity to grant Periathai’s wishes and directly, the redundancy of Hinduism. Alternatively, Ng interprets it in light of Periathai’s ascetic-like propensities as announcing the completion of her cycle of devotion and therefore, her physical life. She has, in this sense, accepted her death – the culmination of her detachment – and her “fast sinking” implies the subscription of her body and consciousness to the symbolic pyre of Hindu cremation so that she can at last secure safe passage into Brahman.

In the later chapters of the novel, like Periathai, Naina also find spiritual liberation which, according to Ng, Ravi misconceive as disappointment and defeat. His awakening, in a sense, is the fulfillment of Periathai’s prophecy that she will “haunt” the place after her death.

Naina also shares Periathai’s desire to own his own home/land. When the pursuit of having his own home finally takes its toll on Naina, he reduced to mumbling and self-confinement in the prayer room. His actions are interpreted by his family as impending madness.Contrarily, according to Ng, from a Hindu perspective, his actions reflect the fact that he is “a ‘dividual’ – not an indivisible bounded unit, but a visible unit particles of which can be absorbed by other ‘dividuals’”. Referring to Naina’s death, Ng views it as both an extension and ultimate expression of his detachment from reality and his attainment of enlightenment.