Aktar stejjer b’San Ġużepp fi ħsiebi u f’qalbi

Kumment Tarċisju Zarb

 

U n-narrattiva titkellem tgħajjat. Hija dik it-tip ta’ narrattiva li tgħidilna l-istejjer. Stejjer diretti. Sempliċi. Stejjer li jafu lili u lilek. Anke meta dawn ma jiġux mistqarra, kelma b’kelma. Għax in-narrattiva hija aħna.

 

U San Ġużepp, insemmi jew mhux qiegħed hemm. Qiegħed jismagħna. Qiegħed jgħidilna li huwa qiegħed hemm biex isostnina  u jgħinna f’dal-itinerarju li nsejħulu ħajja. Għaliex San Ġużepp mhuwiex ħlief esseri mistiku, li miegħu aħna nistgħu nirrelataw fil-ħinijiet intimistiċi tagħna, hekk kif ngħaddu minn tributarju għal ieħor. Minn waqt ta’ inċertezza, diqa, sussult għal ieħor.

 

U dan huwa sewwa sew li jagħmel Joe Camilleri, awtur li kapaċi jiġbor fil-vuċi narrattiva, uċuh u esseri varji li jgħaddu minn waqtiet għal waqtiet għal waqtiet, li fihom ikollhom il-ħtieġa ta’ sostenn spiritwali. Emozzjonali. Ta’ min lil hinn mill-istorja tiegħu/tagħha, irid isib persona/vuċi li magħha huwa jkun jista’ jaqsam dan it-travalju. Dawn il-waqtiet li jeħtieġu minnhom infushom lil xi ħadd fuq min jorbtu.

 

U San Ġużepp, f’dawn in-narrattivi, jidħol u jixref ta’ sikwit. Huwa ’l San Ġużepp li joffri l-ħajt tal-kenn – ħajt tal-kenn uniku – ir-rifuġju arketipiku għal dal-passiġġieri li niltaqgħu maghom għaddejjin f’dawn in-naħiet ta’ daw’ il-kontradi, naħiet, li ħafna drabi, aktarx iva, milli le, ikunu naħiet li jkunu jeħtieġu lil min jgħinhom. L-għajnuna hawnhekk hija għajnuna fl-intimità tal-individwu, il-koppja, il-ġemgħat li jħossuhom li għandhom jitolbu lil dan il-qaddis, li kif nafu wkoll huwa qaddis li jagħmel parti intima mill-glorja tal-qaddisin, u li aħna nsibu ruħna nirrikorru għalih, bil-vuċi / kif ukoll bla vuċi ta’ sikwit, fil-ħajja tagħna.

 

U Joe Camilleri, ta’ ħassieb-narratur uniku, jagħraf jidħol sewwa sew f’qiegħ il-personae tiegħu, li f’qiegħ qiegħhom iħossu l-ħtieġa tal-medjatur Ġużeppi – medjatur li jġib il-balzmu fej’ jinħass li m’hemmx tama. Personae li tul ħajjithom, b’xi mod jew ieħor, f’waqtiet, b’mod speċjali ta’ qtigħ il-qalb ħassew il-ħtieġa li jirrikorru għalih. U jiġri, li aktarx iva, milli le, San Ġużepp jirrisolvi, jekk xej’ fuq livell intimu-spiritwali, l-angst, it-tbatijiet, in-nuqqasijiet, il-mard u l-bqija li aħna nsibu ruħna matul ħajjitna.

 

U dawn t’hawnhekk huma ftit minn daw’ ir-ritratti ta’ dawn l-istejjer, stejjer li bl-istil mexxej ta’ Camilleri, m’hemmx dubju li jaslu biex jaslu fejn għandhom jaslu fil-profond ta’ kull qarrej li jagħtihom ċans jinstemgħu.

 

Hekk, ngħidu aħna, “Kartolina ta’ Tama” (p.15) tlaqqagħna ma’ koppja li kellhom tarbija li batiet u batiet ħafna, u huma magħha,  imma fl-istess ħin jidher li deher iċ-ċans ta’ fostering, li għal din il-koppja, devota sa qiegħ ruħha ta’ San Ġużepp, setgħet tara, kif anke hi, minkejja t-tbatija li kienu għaddew minnha, issa setgħu jgħaddu għal dan il-patt.

U sadattant nisimgħu karattru minn dawn in-novelli jgħid: “Jien twelidt u trabbejt il-Qala. San Ġużepp kien jorqod u jqum magħna. Fit-tislima li konna ntuh qabel norqdu, u fit-talba li konna ngħidulu kif niftħu għajnejna. San Ġużepp baqa’ dejjem f’qalbi.” / Leħnu miksur issokta jħeġġiġni, “Ħudu. U ibqa’ għożżu għalija.” / U b’xofftejh jirtogħdu, mnn qiegħ qalbu tefa’ bewsa lil San Ġużepp.”  Din is-silta meħuda min-novella “Gwarniċ li mhux tas-soltu” (p. 37) għal darb’oħra turina kif San Ġużepp kellu sehem fil-ħajja ta’ xwejjaħ li ħeles mill-għarqa u kif dan sab ruħu mfakkar fi gwarniċ.

 

“Kellha tkun daqqa” (p.79), min-naħa l-oħra hija storja traġika bi tmiem feliċi, hekk kif bniedem mitluf wara l-każin, u b’theddida minn martu li kienet se titilqu, jispiċċaw, wara li ‘kellha tkun daqqa’, biex jerġgħu jsibu lil xulxin, b’San Ġużepp jgħin f’dan ir-rapprochement.

 

U t-toqba li nsibu f’ “San Ġużepp b’toqba f’qalbu” (p. 105) mhijiex ħlief it-toqba li San Ġużepp lest iżomm f’qalbu u fl-istess ħin jaħfer u jħenn, tgħidilna din l-istorja, għax dik it-toqba li kien hemm f’sidru ma kinetx ħaġa oħra ħlief toqba li kienet riżultat ta’ min ipprova jisraq minn din l-istatwa, u li spiċċa nqabad mill-pulizija.

 

Novella oħra, “Bħal fl-apsidi tal-knisja tal-Imsida” (p.143) min-naħa l-oħra tgħidilna l-istorja ta’ mara li tilfet lil żewġha qasir il-għomor, sewwa sew f’inċident tat-traffiku, u kif fil-ħajja ta’ dan l-individwu San Ġużepp kellhom post partikolari. U kif forsi, minkejja t-traġedja li temmitlu ħajtu, seta’ kellu temma wisq aktar kiefra minħabba l-marda terminali li kienet qiegħda tistennieh, u li sa mewtu, ħadd ma kien għadu ntebah biha.

 

U flimkien ma’ dawn in-novelli nsibu ħafna u ħafna oħrajn, li lkoll flimkien jagħmlu għoxrin novella, li lkoll jixorbu minn dan il-fluss narrattiv kreattiv ta’ personaġġ-kittieb b’għajnejn għarriexa għal dak li jkiddna, isawwarna u jagħtina t-tama.

 

Ta’ min jgħid ukoll li l-unità tematika ta’ dawn in-novelli, turina li għal Camilleri l-kitba tan-novella hija tiftixa kontinwa għal fdalijiet varji ta’ stejjer, aneddoti u avventimenti, li lkoll flimkien jagħtuna b’mod koeżiv u koerenti xi tip jew ieħor ta’ qagħda ta’ ruħ, ispirazzjoni, sens ta’ waqt, żmien jew għoġba.  U dan Joe Camilleri, jagħmlu permezz ta’ dawn l-istejjer li jintħietu flimkien b’enerġija narrattiva unika. B’sempliċità narratoloġika, ta’ kittieb li ħakem stil ta’ kitba, li filwaqt li dejjem issibu jirfinah, imma l-istess ħin, jidher ukoll li dan hu parti mill-istil idjosinkratiku ta’ kittieb, li mhux biss għandu ħakma tal-ilsien, imma wkoll, tan-nozzjoni mistħarrġa, u l-aspetti soċjo-psikoloġiċi-reliġjużi tal-ambjent li jkun qiegħed jiddeskrivi.

 

Għal darb’oħra, għaldaqstant nissuġġerixxi li dawn l-istejjer mhux biss għandhom jinqraw, imma jsiru, għallinqas xi wħud testi li bihom u permezz tagħhom, it-tfal tal-lum, jidħol fil-profond ta’ ethos ta’ kitba unika.

 

Ħajr lil Joe Camilleri li matul meddet is-snin tana kotba oħra fosthom: Solitudni fl-Folla, Fir-rokna tas-silenzju; Żwiemel tar-riħ; Mużajċi tat-tafal; Ir-raġel tas-skiet; Dwal fil-kantini; L-eku tal-ħabbata; Faċċati; Reffiegħa tad-delligħiet.

 

Ħajr ukoll lil Horizons.

(an appreciation of Ġo Baħar Jiskura sad-dlam, by Gioele Galea)

For all of us who were biting our nails, waiting for the sequel to In-Nar Għandu Isem, where the writer leaves us in awe at a supernatural experience that propelled him onto a road of deep conversion wondering what came next, the recently published Ġo Baħar Jiskura sad-dlam does not disappoint. Excelling expectations, it keeps the reader’s eyes glued as to what’s coming next in the autobiographical rendition of the writer’s riveting saga towards the hermitage where Mirela still sits wide eyed, waiting to hear the story. The narrative in his new book picks up from the divine gaze that had just transformed him (“Kienet ħarstu li tatni l-bidu.” p 9). With typical unshackled verve the author proceeds to describe his journey towards his goal step by step, giving us a blow by blow description of his intimate experience. The result is a veritable ode to life in the Spirit, where the experience of God throughout life’s journey is wholesomely exposed as a life worth living.

In Ġo Baħar Jiskura sad-dlam, Galea renders his prose with the balancing skill of a tightrope performer. Choosing his words carefully, he weaves through his story line simultaneously revealing what was happening on his outside as well as his inside: how the one was propelling the other, unveiling two sides of the same coin (his life) in the process. He is careful however to intimate that while on the outside it is he who is acting on his decisions, on the inside it is God who is the agent and actor of his (the author’s) existence, and the arduous episodes he describes occur in reaction to the Divine. Despite the suffering this existence entailed, the author still decides that life, and his existence in God are both “tremendous” (p 202), his living from the bottom of the abyss (il-qiegħ) “beautiful” (p 203) and “profoundly calm” (p 237). And ensconced in the lush green lull of the forest at the Abbey he finds love, peace, and hope (p 237).

Galea’s allegorical style returns in his new book, so does his imagery as well as his rare but precious aphorisms. As we follow him at the start of his journey through light, joy, prayer, sweetness, a sense of direction, and a song that danced in his heart, the road becomes deeper and the darkness denser. He explains to Mirela how “Everything became a metaphor for me, that is to say everything [outside me] started to inform my interior” (Kollox beda jsirli metafora, jiġifieri kollox beda jkellimni minn qagħda ġewwiena. p 85). Striking metaphors that bubble up from the stream of Galea’s script include: dark solitude (p 78), God’s tears (p 82), blinding light (p 88), the desert (p109), the anchor (p 123), the sea lurking around gnawing at [his] naked roots (p149), the clamp (p 224), the nail which for him represents the Will of God (p 224), profound littleness, and intimate silence (p 93). Ravished by his call to silent solitude, the protagonist successively mulls over silence as desert ( p 96), as refuge (p 142), as beginning (p162), and as the space for the Presence ( p 169). The silence at the bottom of the abyss (p 169) which he describes with aplomb, would perhaps be his most intimate articulation of this particular metaphor. Because the bottom of the abyss is for him a paradoxical reference to the top of the mountain whereto he has set his eyes. For Galea, the paradox is a most convenient figure of speech when it comes to his interior life, as he explains to Mirela: that for him the ascent is descent, the apogee is the bottom [of the abyss], death is life and the true light is that which blinds him unto the densest of darknesses (p.12). Among his vibrant metaphors all laden with meaning, the one that stands out is the darkness, a figurative expression which appears in the very title of the book. It is the darkness that he experiences at the bottom of the abyss to which he refers as the pinnacle of God (p 203), a darkness experienced as abandonment which in turn became his refuge (p 31). Hence his explicit reference to his journey towards God as through a darkening sea.

The interior darkness on the spiritual road evokes the words of the Mystical Doctor St John of the Cross, who explains the way towards God as through a dark night, for when God is spiritually near to the soul, the soul experiences Him as “intolerable darkness … for the supernatural light darkens with its excess the natural light.” (Spiritual Canticle, Stanza 13, 1) The aim of the spiritual life as the Mystical Doctor elucidates, is the state of perfect union with God through love, a journey he compares to climbing a mountain. (The Ascent of Mount Carmel, Prologue). Which brings us to the mountain our protagonist is trying to ‘climb’ but is experiencing as “the bottom of the abyss.” This in turn echoes the words of another Doctor of the Church, St Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, who in her autobiography writes about her own experience of ‘climbing’ towards the ‘top of the mountain’ not by scaling it on the outside, but going forth as through a dark tunnel: “one would have to travel through this dark tunnel to understand its darkness.” (Story of a Soul, Manuscript C, p 5v).

For Galea, God is the Absolute (p 126), the Creator (p 84) who hides in his heart (p 122), and the Cross is central to his personal spirituality: “My God is a God of fire, who carved his face on the central spot of the cross, there where the vertical beam meets the horizontal one.” (“Alla tan-nar hu l-Alla tiegħi – Alla li wiċċu naqqxu hemm, fil-punt fejn l-għuda l-wieqfa tiltaqa’ mal-għuda mimduda” p 74). Ravished by the Love that attracts him, he is adamant that his ultimate goal is nothing short of complete union with God (p 76). Wrapped within the intimate account of his spiritual journey, a message of hope shines through Ġo Baħar Jiskura sad-dlam. That when the Spirit is poured upon us, the wilderness truly becomes a fruitful field (Isaiah 32, 15). That the dream for union with God can be fulfilled despite all obstacles. The key attitude required on the part of each person called to it being one: surrender.

 

Rita C. Grima  M.A. (Melit.), B.A. (Hons.)

21st November 2024