Indulekha (novel)
| File:ഇന്ദുലേഖ.jpg | |
| Author | O Chandu Menon |
|---|---|
| Language | Malayalam |
| Genre | Novel |
Publication date | 1889 |
| Publication place | India |
| ISBN | NA Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
Indulekha (Malayalam: ഇന്ദുലേഖ), a novel by O Chandu Menon. This work initiated the novel genre in Malayalam and is therefore considered to be a landmark in the history of Malayalam literature although it is credited as the second malayalam novel (first being Kundalatha published in 1888). Indulekha, Chandumenon's first novel, was published in 1889. It was followed by his second and unfinished work, Sarada. The novel exposes the strange cultural practices, like Sambandham and Marumakkatayam, that prevailed among Nairs, which were becoming increasingly at odds with the changing times of British India. The novel had a great influence on public opinion of the Nair community at the time, and influenced social change, as instigated by the Malabar Marriage Commission, 1891.
Title
Indulekha, refers to the main character in the novel, a beautiful, well educated Nayar lady of eighteen years.
Background
The novel was written at a time when there was an emerging class of upper caste men (mostly Nayars) who received a Western style education, and were achieving prominent positions in British India. The period was a clash of cultures, as the educated Indians were torn between Western ideals and traditional practices. The Nambudiri Brahmins of Kerala, had traditionally had marital relations with Nayar women, known as Sambandham, since only the oldest Nambudiri youth was allowed to marry a Brahmin girl. The younger sons were encouraged to have Sambandham with Nayar women, in order to maintain male primogeniture, since the children born from such relations belonged to their mother's family. The matriarchy practiced by the Nayars was also coming under attack during this period. Many of the Nambudiri men, though learned in Vedas and Sanskrit, had little knowledge of English and Western sciences. The novel highlights the lack of willingness of the Nambudiris to adapt to the change of times, as well as the struggle by Nayar women to break out of the age-old principle of Sambandham, which had little relevance during the late 19th century.
Plot summary
Indulekha is a Nayar woman of breathtaking beauty, high intellectual abilities, artistic talent, young and educated, knowledgeable young woman with education in English and sanskrit, who is in love with another young Nayar man, Madhavan, the hero of the novel, who was also presented in ideal colours, a member of newly educated class from University of Madras. The story details how the matrilineal society of those times, encourages Namboothiris to start a relationship with Indulekha. Indulekha promptly snubs the old Nambudiri man, but Madhavan in haste runs away from the household, to Bengal. There he makes a lot of good friends. In the end, he arrives back and is united with Indulekha. They then leave to Madras, present day Chennai.
The old Namboothiri represents the decadence of feudalism and its polygamous practices. Indulekha, the novel's educated heroine, dramatises the resistance of a progressive Nayar woman. She refuses to succumb to the oppression of the Namboothiri and marries Madhavan, who stands up to the social evils of the period.
Characters
- Indulekha
- Madhavan
- The Namboothiri
- Indulekha's Mother Lakshmikkutti Amma
- Panju Menon
- Kannazhi Moorkkillatha Manayckal Soori Namboothirippadu
- Cheruseri Namboothiri
External links
- Indulekha in PDF form at Malayalam Wikisource
- Novel and Short Story to the Present Day - by M T Vasudevan Nair
- Voice of Rebellion - a review by K. Kunhikrishnan
- A Book Review of Indulekha
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