“It was serendipity,” said Jenny Balfour-Paul about how he chanced upon Thomas Machell’s journals in the British Library. She was speaking at the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet, in association with the Victoria Memorial and The Telegraph on January 24.

Balfour-Paul’s book, Deeper than Indigo, based on these journals, seemed to her like a natural progression from her earlier works. For, it was indigo that lured her to Machell and shaped the 15 years of her life that she spent pursuing his trail.

Machell was a midshipman in the merchant navy and an indigo planter. He had travelled on an Arab ship dressed as an Arab and read the Bible to strict Muslims. He was taken aback at how much they had in common. Machell’s plea for religious tolerance is much more relevant now than it was in his times, said Balfour-Paul.

Balfour-Paul objects to her obsession with Machell being called a love affair across time. Yet, she seemed quite taken when it was pointed out that the Bengali translation of her book’s title, Ghana Shyam, not only means the darkest blue but is also another name for Krishna, bringing to mind an image of Radha and the themes of separation and union.

“It was a compulsion to know more about Machell and his spiritual search” that led Balfour-Paul to follow his path. Machell would love the way the world is connected at present, said Balfour-Paul, adding that had he been around he would probably have been quite active on Twitter.

Machell was ahead of his time in his empathy for the “natives” and his “criticism of colonialism”. His journals bear witness to him repeatedly “grappling with his conscience”. Machell, when he wrote the journals, only wanted to be heard. Balfour-Paul recalled how when she came across the first draft of the book, she shouted to the sea: “I’ve got you out there now.”

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / by Srimoyee Bogchi / Tuesday – March 08th, 2016