India, Sept. 6 -- An ecofiction that is also a feminist imagining of Sabari's life and purpose, On the Banks of the Pampa by the Telugu poet Volga highlights the impact of development on ecology. Volga's mythological retellings are fierce; they dare to imagine the absences lingering in the presentation of marginal characters, often surprising the reader with their agency and power. This is clear in her earlier novels, The Liberation of Sita (2016), and Yashodhara (2019). In On the Banks of the Pampa, translated by Purnima Tammireddy, Volga returns to the Ramayana to imagine the life of an elderly tribal woman who awaits Rama's arrival, as predicted by her guru, Matanga Muni. She is scorned for tasting the berries before offering them to Rama, who becomes the hero, hailed for willingly accepting those. Volga asks, who is Sabari? Why was she waiting for Rama so devotedly? Before we meet Sabari in Volga's imagining, we meet the abundant forest she inhabits. The trees, the birds, the big and small animals, the fish in the river Pampa - the entire ecosystem where nothing human-made exists. The lucid visual imagery evokes a sense of bliss before it takes us to Sabari's childhood. In this childhood, Volga creates a narrative that takes on the very contemporary issue of deforestation and ecological abuse disguised as develop-ment. She questions city dwellers who perceive aranyavasis as uncultured. The story then invites known characters such as Kabanda, Rama, Lakshman, Kaekeyi, Manthara, Hunuman and Sugriva into the world of Sabari. The brilliance of this text lies in the explication of the thought that drives it, ajnanam (unknowing). What Sabari says halfway through the telling forms the essence of the text: "I advise everyone to befriend nature, hug trees, treat every being as an equal. I recommend a way of life that fosters nothing but love and compassion. Stop this relentless pursuit of the universe's buried secrets. Instead, learn to listen to its whispers. Our existence will find its true meaning if we develop a keen ear for the subtle murmurs of the universe. Our life's ambition must be to recognise and revel in its mysteries, without an urge to unravel them. The universe is here to awe us. After a while, once you overcome being awed, you will witness this cosmic play in an impersonal, passionless way, only to become a part of it. This is the act of intimately fusing with the light of ajnanam. I'm encouraging you to immerse yourself in the sadhana of such ajnanam." This embodiment of ajnanam adores Rama based on stories she hears from Sutapa, the traveller from Ayodhya. She looks at Rama with wonder. How can a prince leave his rajyam behind to dwell in a forest? He could perhaps be the agent of change who will carry her message of ajnanam to city dwellers. This subverts the power dynamics depicted in the epic. On the Banks of the Pampa is as much an ecofiction with the forest at its centre as it is a feminist imagining of Sabari's life....