The Man Who Grew Tomatoes by pandemonium_213

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Fanwork Notes

 MEFA10 Winner 1st Place Cross-Cultural Gapfiller

Banner by Beruthiel's Cats.  Thanks, Cat! 

Although this story is so far off on the edge of the alternate history that comprises the Pandë!verse that it's hanging by its fingernails, the SWG moderators thought it would provide an upbeat coda for 2009's Akallabêth in August. So here it is, a blending of the West of Middle-earth with a great civilization of the East, namely Bharat (which might just remind the reader of ancient India). Two background stories which give a nod to this sub-continent of the Pandë!verse are The Jinn and The Elendilmir, Chapter 15: A Midsummer Night's Converse.

Glossary in end notes.

Thanks to the Lizard Council -- Jael, Surgical Steel, Aeärwen, Drummerwench and especially Maiafay for comments and critical feedback.

Fanwork Information

Summary:

Navin, a young boy living in a mystical land in the East of Middle-earth, a civilization as rich in lore and magic as any in the West, visits family friends while his mother prepares to give birth to a new sister or brother. There in the hills, Navin helps his elderly friend in his garden and later, his friend -- a man from a distant land now gone -- tells Navin the story of how tomatoes came to Bharat.

MEFA 2010 Winner, First Place; Races: Cross-Cultural: Gapfiller.  

Major Characters: Amandil, Original Character(s)

Major Relationships:

Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, General

Challenges: Akallabêth in August, Strangers in Strange Lands

Rating: General

Warnings:

Chapters: 1 Word Count: 6, 031
Posted on 6 September 2009 Updated on 6 September 2009

This fanwork is complete.

Table of Contents

The Man Who Grew Tomatoes

Comments

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Sri Aman's fate is one of my biggest question marks in the book and your take on it is lovely as usual.  I read this more than once and I always find something to linger on each time--loved how you wove Eastern/Hindu myth with Tolkien.  

Elder Sister is as compelling as ever--her hidden years are always a treat, it's also great to know that she is still aware of the major events happening in the West even if she is isolated. 

Tiger HuntEastern sojournEastern Sojourn 2 

 

I love this story so much!

Navin's a really engaging young boy - I'm a little curious which grandson Sri Aman is reminded of by Navin. ;)

The Eastern vibe really works for me, the descriptions of the great journey which Sri Aman undertook are marvellous. I love the sharks being called 'Osse's wolves,' that really seems fitting.

I think most of all, I just adore the notion that Amandil was blown clear to India by the devastation of the Downfall, and that he found a happy ending (if a slightly bittersweet one).

Wonderful story!

A very belated thanks, Steel!  When I first read the Akallabêth, I wanted to believe that Amandil had somehow survived even though the overall drak tone of The Silmarillion suggested otherwise.  Certainly, his fate was probably grim if he stepped on the shores of Aman (remembering Námo's "cheerful" assessement of Eärendil).  Sending him to Middle-earth India may give me an excuse to write a couple more fics featuring him during his 'second life."  I imagine Lord Rama's palace as being quite spectacular and exotic, let alone the rulers, so that might be fun.

"Ossë's wolves" seemed a natural outgrowth of "Ossë's Wrath" -- your most excellent term for hurricanes/typhoons. 

*happy sigh* This is such a wonderful and hopeful story about Amandil's fate. Him being so happy and at peace there, him relating how he came to Bharat: all told from Navin's perspective. The ends makes me wubble, how this little boy makes sense of tales of legend, wishing also a goodnight to Eärendil. What a perfect ending to this monster project!

Thank you so much, Rhapsy, not only for the kind words but also for encouraging me to submit this for Akallabêth in August.  I'm not sure I would have if you had not cheered me on. :^)

So did Akallabêth in August fade to black to the strains of a sitar and the beat of the tabla? :^) 

I really enjoyed this story. While I like the tragedy of Amandil's hopeless attempt to reach the West, I also like the thought that maybe he made a new home somewhere - and your take on where it took him was unique and very satisfying. Thank you for sharing this!

 

And thank you for the kind words!  My thanks is terribly belated but the feeling of gratitude that you liked this is still fresh.  As much as I love The Silmarillion and tend to dwell on one of its darker characters, the unrelenting sturm und drang can get to be wearing, so in my alternatie history, I decided to give Amandil a second chance.  Having him wash up on the shores of Middle-earth India gives me a good excuse to write more in this setting.

I enjoyed reading this.  It is certainly something that could've happened to Amandil, and I enjoyed seeing what happened to Melamire.  Bharat looks very interesting. From what you said, it sounds like they have a Maia, or possibly more than one doing something similar to Melian's girdle in Doriath. Does Sauron simply ignore their presence as too difficult to conquer and no threat to him?   I like this story.

Thanks so very much, Aiwen, and my apologies for the late reply.   Yes, indeed, my interpretation is that Rama et al. are Maiar, that there are Elves in the kingdom and that it is a guarded kingdom like Doriath.  This is a nod to a friend of mine (from South India originally) who liked the idea of Melian's Girdle.  Mélamírë spends a good chunk of time there (1/2 of the Second Age and almost all of the Third).

I suspect that Pandë!verse Sauron is well aware of Rama and Sita and likely ventured into Bharat (but not into the guarded kingdom) during the first few centuries of the Second Age.  The small collection of powerful Maiar in Rama's guarded kingdom, which did not encompass the whole of the mythical sub-continent in my 'verse.

Thanks again! 

And I -- at last -- am catching up with a terribly late but nonetheless heartfelt thank you!   I'm glad that the combination of Eastern and Western Middle-earth worked for you.  Tolkien bluntly stated he was not interested in the mythology of the East when he engaged in his mythopoeia for his homeland, but I think the mythic East is rich with wonderful stories.  Thus I can't resist blending them.

This has got to be one of your mist delightful and creative stories, Pande!  I'm delighted to discover the fates of Amandil and Melamire aren't as bleak in the Pandeverse as seemed likely, and of course any fic featuring tomatoes as a major plot element has to meet with my enthusiastic approval.

And a second round of abject apologies for being so abominably late in replying to your very kind comments, Ithilwen!  My appreciation is no less even if tardy!

I'm so glad you enjoyed this!  This part of the Pandë!verse is really hanging off the edge of the cliff in terms of its relationship to Tolkien, but I do love the challenge of blending mythologies and also to depict the East of Middle-earth in a more favorable light.  I hope to revisit Amandil again in Bharat, and I'd dearly love to weave the Blue Wizards (as Tolkien depicts them in the Peoples of Middle-earth) into this part of the world.

Although Midwestern tomatoes cannot be rivaled...ever...I will say that Jersey tomatoes had some small degree of influence on this fic.  Plus,it offered a way of "explaining" certain "New World" plants (taters, tobacco, etc.) in "Old World"Eriador.

Thanks again!  You do realize that you're just encouraging me to write more of this crazy cross-over, right? ;^)

Hi Pande, thought I'd post my MEFA review here.

Pandemonium writes such remarkably creative stories. I kept passing over this one on my wish list and was finally drawn by the irresistible title. I should have known that a treat awaited me. "The Man Who Grew Tomatoes" blends Indian culture and mythology with the tale of the fall of Númenor and the fate of Amandil into such a seamless whole that I find myself thinking, of course it happened that way. Sri Aman's (Amandil) tale of his journey told to his adopted grandson Navin is a delight. I especially like the description of the storm and the term [Ossë’s wolves] for the sharks. And the rich descriptions of the exotic land with tigers roaring in the jungle at night and the food and spices and saris and the like, it's just a marvel of invention. And who could resist this description of Sri Aman's tomatoes? [Sri Aman plucked a tomato from its vine, wiped it off on a clean part of his cotton dhoti and handed it to him. The fruit was warm from the afternoon sun. Navin bit into it. Hot summer sunshine burst in his mouth: bright, sweet and tart all at once. Juice trickled down his chin while he took bite after bite, making happy slurping noises, until only the stem remained.]

I found it very satisfying to think that Amandil could have found new love and happiness in a far away land. In addition, I enjoyed the fact that the whole story addresses a fanon argument about whether or not it's plausible that New World products like potatoes or tomatoes could have actually ended up in Middle-earth (aside from the fact that Tolkien said so) but as far as I'm concerned, Pandemonium has settled the issue with this story. Finally, I want to excerpt this line which I loved for its profundity: ["I learned from her –- and from my tomatoes -– that one can be planted in strange soil, adopted by its native people and flourish.”]

Cheers,

~elfscribe

 

A long overdue comment since I first read this almost three years ago, when I first discovered and savour-devoured everything Pandë!verse. I've always had an inexplicable soft spot for the Blue Wizards and pondered their adventures in the Near and Far East, but The Jinn blew open my mind to so many more enticing possibilities. I was sad there wasn't more because I so very much wanted to explore Bharat, and journey with Mélamírë into the hidden kingdom. Then I landed on this, and while the title speaks of a Númenórean ex-pat, I was completely, and delightedly, taken by surprise by the setting!

The rich, colourful flavours you weave here have remained with me ever since, tantalising with possibility, sparking so many little ideas that keep resurfacing from time to time. And now with this reread — and perhaps complimented by a recent deeper dive into The Fall of Númenor — this is somehow that much more vibrant!

Sheer magic indeed!