Novel Kala

[Maren Ruminski]

Iwrote about Mission to Kala by Mongo Beti for my book A Basket of Leaves. I've been surprised to see that that review has become one of the most visited pages on my site. The novel, translated from French by Peter Green and published by Heinemann in 1957, is not exactly well-known. But I can understand that those who discover it regard it with affection.

I was happy to discover, while reading the new anthology Gods and Soldiers, that the humanity Beti shows in his work is also evident in his life. Beti protested French influence on Cameroon after independence, worked to free political prisoners, and founded the Bookstore of the Black Peoples in Yaound. He died in 2001.

Jean-Pierre Medza has just returned to his home town after failing his baccalaureate exams. Stung by his setback, wishing only to rest and recoup, he is immediately recruited on a mission to the remote bush village of Kala to retrieve the runaway wife of a man named Niam. Once there he is lionized as a city dweller and man of education, and the uncle he stays with is quick to take advantage of his prestige, loaning him out for dinners with the village elders in return for gifts of sheep and other livestock.

Ireland might be one of the easiest countries to visit on a literary journey across the world. I read Irish novels on a regular basis and the country seems to have produced a disproportionate number of internationally acclaimed authors.

Throughout the novel, we hear about childhood abuse, murder, suicide, war and terrorism. Luckily, there is also love. The love between Tom and his wife June is the sole light in a novel filled with darkness. Unfortunately, love may not be enough to counteract all the trauma from the past.

In the seaside village of Kinlough, Helen, Joe and Mush meet for the first time in years. As teens, they were part of an inseparable group of six. But the group was dissolved, when one of its members, Kala, disappeared. When we meet the characters in the present time, it becomes clear how the event back then has affected all of their lives deeply.

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Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) is a recognized dermatosis that follows successful treatment of visceral leishmaniasis in the Sudan. This randomized and double-blind study aimed to assess safety, immunogenicity and curative potentials of a novel immunochemotherapy regimen in patients with persistent PKDL. Following informed consent, 30 patients were randomized to receive alum-precipitated autoclaved Leishmania major (Alum/ALM) vaccine+Bacille Calmette-Gurin (BCG) and sodium stibogluconate (SSG) or vaccine diluent and SSG. The SSG+Alum/ALM+BCG proved safe with minimal local adverse events. In the SSG+vaccine group, 87% of the patients were cured by day 60 compared with 53% in the SSG alone group (SSG+vaccine efficacy=71%, 95% CI for risk ratio 0.7-1.16). On day 90 of follow-up there were two relapses in the SSG alone arm and none in the SSG+vaccine arm. Pre-treatment cytokines showed high IFN-gamma or high IFN-gamma/IL-10 levels and leishmanin skin test (LST) non-reactivity, while healing/clinical improvement were associated with LST reactivity and low IFN-gamma levels in both study groups (P=0.004). In conclusion, SSG+Alum/ALM+BCG is safe and immunogenic with significant healing potentials in persistent PKDL lesions. Immunochemotherapy probably augmented IFN-gamma production, which induced healing. Leishmanin skin reactivity is a good surrogate marker of cure in persistent PKDL lesions.

Kala is a fictional ape character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's original Tarzan novel, Tarzan of the Apes, and in movies and other media based on it. She is the ape mother of Tarzan who raises him.

In the novel, Kala is a female in a band of Mangani, a fictional species of great ape intermediate between real life chimpanzees and gorillas. The band of mangani encounter the Claytons, and while Kerchak attacks the father, Kala discovers their baby son. Grieving the death of her own baby, she exchanges her dead infant for the human in the bassinet, and raises him as her own. She defends the infant Tarzan from the murderous fury of Kerchak, the mad leader of the ape band, after the latter kills Tarzan's human father. Kala goes on to rear the human baby as her own while protecting him against Kerchak and her own mate, Tublat. After Tarzan reaches adulthood, Kala is killed by a native African hunter, who is subsequently killed by Tarzan in revenge.[1]

Kala also appears in Jungle Tales of Tarzan, the sixth book of the Tarzan series, which relates episodes from the ape man's youth omitted from Tarzan of the Apes. Chapter 7, "The End of Bukawai," relates an episode in which Tarzan is almost killed when he swings so long on the rope that it frays and parts, dropping him to the ground. Kala runs to the boy's aid and he soon revives.[2]

The character of Kala has also appeared in the syndicated comic strip Tarzan and in Tarzan comic books, in a portrayal essentially faithful to Burroughs's conception, generally in adaptations of the original novel. Kala was also faithfully represented in the first Tazan movie, a 1918 silent film adapting the novel, the 1984 film Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, and the 2016 film The Legend of Tarzan.

The 1957 Tarzan movie Tarzan and the Lost Safari conflates Kala with Kerchak in a mention by the ape man of his adoption as a baby by a she-ape. The account echoes Burroughs's version of Tarzan's youth, but names Kerchak rather than Kala as his ape foster mother. While neither actually appears in the film (nor any other ape character, aside from the ubiquitous Cheeta), the direct reference to the original Burroughs story is unusual for a movie of this period.

In Disney's Tarzan (1999) and its direct-to-video sequel, Burroughs's "Great Apes" are gorillas, and Kala is the mate of Kerchak (a much more benign figure in the film) rather than Tublat, who himself appears in the Disney animated TV series as the rogue tyrant instead. In the film's retelling Tarzan's parents are killed by Sabor the leopard, and Kala saves the infant Tarzan from Sabor, not Kerchak. Her own child having been previously killed by the same leopard, Kala adopts Tarzan as her own, though Kerchak disapproves of this. Kala is portrayed as the aunt of Terk, later Tarzan's best friend. Kala does not die in the movie. The character was voiced by actress Glenn Close.[3]

In the 2013 animated film Tarzan, Kala is a gorilla mated to Kerchak, the silverback leading their gorilla troop. After Kerchak is challenged and treacherously killed by the rogue Tublat, Kala adopts the young Tarzan to replace her deceased baby with Kerchak; Tarzan grows up to eventually challenge and exile Tublat. Late in the movie Kala is shot by mercenaries, seemingly dying, though she is subsequently shown to have recovered.

Hi Ritesh,

I would like to send you a copy of my paranormal urban fantasy book, New Blood, for a possible review. I have both pdf and kindle versions.

Let me know if you would be interested!

Thanks, Donna

The Hell Patrol, a legendary mercenary outfit commanded by Jonrell, finds itself disenfranchised with their current employer. Recalling a promise he made over a decade ago, Jonrell breaks his contract in order to right the wrongs of his past.

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While they struggle with dwindling life support and increasingly desperate passengers, their colleagues scramble to mount an audacious rescue. Racing against time, they will face shocking betrayals in a fight to save their friends.

Thanks for a great blog!

Would you be willing to review ON MESSAGE, the first mystery in the Jillian Hillcrest series. On Message is a mystery involving a corporate communications executive, Jillian Hillcrest, at a small Silicon Valley biotechnology company who encounters murder and helps track down and identify the killer. For more information, ; or e-mail me at jo...@joycestrand.com. Available as an e-book for Kindle, Nook, or IPad, etc. or paperback.

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