Indulekha (novel)
Author | O. Chandu Menon |
---|---|
Original title | ഇന്ദുലെഖാ |
Country | India |
Language | Malayalam |
Genre | Novel |
Publisher | Author (1889), Educational & General Book Depot. Kozhikode (1890) |
Publication date | 9 December 1889 |
Media type | Print (Paperback) |
Pages | 498 |
Original text | ഇന്ദുലെഖാ at Internet Archive |
Indulekha is a Malayalam novel written by O. Chandu Menon. Published in 1889, it was the first major novel in the Malayalam language. It was a landmark in the history of Malayalam literature and initiated the novel as a new flourishing genre.[1] The novel is about a beautiful, well-educated lady of a Nair tharavad.
Background
The title Indulekha, refers to the prodigy in this novel, a beautiful, well educated Nair lady of 20 or 22 years.[citation needed]
The novel was written at a time when there was an emerging class of upper caste men (mostly Nairs) 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, traditionally had marital relations with Nair women, known as
Chandu Menon has written that he initially meant Indulekha as a translation of Benjamin Disraeli's Henrietta Temple (1836), but, having struggled with the subtleties of an alien culture, he abandoned the project in favour of writing one on his own, depicting a similar story.[citation needed]
Plot summary
Indulekha is a graceful Nair girl with good intelligence, artistic talent. She is a young and educated, knowledgeable woman with education in English and
The old Namboothiri represents the decadence of feudalism and its polygamous practices. Indulekha, the novel's educated heroine, dramatizes the resistance of a progressive Nair 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
- suri nambuthiri
- Lakshmikutti amma - the mother of Indulekha
- Panju menon
2014 research findings
In 2014 April, literary critics Dr.
Publication history
The novel was published in 1889 by 'Spectator Achukoodam'. It went out-of-print in March 1890 and the second edition was published by 'Kozhikode Educational and General Book Depot' in June 1890. The 51st edition of the novel was published in 1951 by Vidyavardhini Publishers, Trivandrum. The book entered public domain in the 1950s. The first National Book Stall (NBS) edition of the novel came in 1955. Although the previous editions of the book had variations from the original the first NBS edition was a completely revised and edited one. They went to the extent of removing the whole 18th chapter which according to noted critic M. P. Paul, had badly affected the continuity of the novel. Other NBS editions however replaced the 18th chapter but many other changes they made still persist in all the available versions of the book.[3]
Translations
The first English translation was by John Willoughby Francis Dumergue, a friend of O. Chandu Menon who worked as a Malayalam translator to the Madras Government. Another translation of the novel under the title Crescent Moon by R. Leeladevi was published in 1979. A translation by Anitha Devasia was published by Oxford University Press in 2005 and included in their Oxford India Paperbacks series.[3]
Adaptations
The first adaptation of the novel was in 1896; a play under the title Indulekha was performed by National Club at V. J. T. Hall,
See also
References
- ^ "Voice of rebellion"
- ^ "Corrected Version of Indulekha Released". www.dcbooks.com. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014.
- ^ Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly(in Malayalam): 8–35.
- ^ "Revised Indulekha". Sayahna.org. 14 April 2014.