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INDULEKHA

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INDULEKHA
A Novel from Malabar

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O O.CHANDU MENON
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Book Point, Ummer Mansion ,M.M. Ali Road ,Calicut-673002


E-mail : tar_juma@yahoo.co.in
Governing body
M.T. Vasudevan Nair
N. Gopalakrishnan
M.M. Basheer
P.M. Narayanan
P.M. Sreedharan (Managing Partner)

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INDULEKHA
(Novel)
Written by
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O. Chandu Menon
Translated by
N.Gopalakrishnan

First Published in Malayalam in 1890


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Published in English by Tarjuma, Kozhikode in 2007


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Copy right Reserved

Cover Design by Chans


Type setting and lay out by M.Manoharan, Apple Talk, Kozhikode
Printed in India by Printers Port,Kozhikode

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,


stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form, or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
PUBLISHERS NOTE

Malayalam, perhaps the only language with a palindro-mic appella-


tion, is a comparatively young language. However during the last cen-
tury its literature made rapid strides and earned it a place among the
most developed languages of India. Many of the notable works of
modern Malayalam have been translated into various Indian languages.

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Nevertheless the fact remains that they have found access to only a
limited readership.
Tarjuma is an organization that we have started with the purpose of
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publishing English translations of some of the selected works in
Malayalam so that they may reach a wider readership than what is
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open to them at present.


We made O. Chandu Menons Indulekha our first choice for publi-
cation because it is the first novel in Malayalam. While it is true that
prior to the publication of Indulekha a few books that had some of the
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characteristices of novels had been published, it is almost universally


recognized that Chandu Menons remains the earliest work that truly
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conforms to the accepted norms of the modern novel.


The novel presents a vivid picture of the social milieu of Kerala in
the nineteenth century. It follows a well knit story line. At the same
time the author studiously pursues his objective of stressing the need
for the modernization of society by the inculacation of the English lan-
guage and modern science. In this sense too it is a pioneering work.
The period of transition from the twentieth century to the twenty
first is curiously similar to the times when Chandu Menon wrote
lndulekha. The recent decades have witnessed the growth of informa-
tion technology and the rapid integration of western knowledge with
our day to day life. Hence the threshold on which we now find our-
selves is similar to the one at which Madhavan and lndulekha, the prin-
cipal characters of the novel stood when the novel was written nearly
a century ago. The translation by Dumergue, Chandu Menons senior
colleague in the civil service in elegant English is eminently readable.
We hope that readers will welcome our publication of this
transalation that has already won wide acclaim.

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TRANSLATORS PREFACE

If it is true that no book should be written without justification, then


it is certainly true that no book was ever written with greater justifica-
tion than the Malayalam novel Indulekha. Valuable as the literature
of the Dravidian languages may be considered for the purposes of ar-
chaeology or philology, nevertheless all who have studied it with any

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other object in view must remember the sense of weariness and disap-
pointment with which they rose from the task.
The popular literature, with all its unnatural and supernatural para-
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phernalia, belongs to an age when the human mind was still in a go-cart,
its language is as obsolete as the language of Piers the Plowman, and
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as it is without exception founded on the venerable Sanskrit, there is a


total absence of originality. But Mr. Chandu Menon has quit the well-
worn track, paved with plagiarism; modern Malabar is depicted in his
pages and the language of Indulekha is the living Malayalam of the
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present day. It is no part of my province or intention to discuss the


merits of the work itself, but I mayperhaps be permitted to observe that
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if this descent into a valley of bones which are very dry, is followed by
their revival the author deserves well of all who, from birth, inclination
or necessity are interested in a regeneration of oriental literature.
So far as Europeans are concerned, the value of a book like
Indulekha can hardly be overestimated. Few amongst us have oppor-
tunities of learning the coloquial and idiomatic language of the country,
which, so far as I am competent to express an opinion, is far more
important for the ends of administration than all the monuments of ar-
chaic ingenuity which we read and mark and leave undigested under
the present Rules for the encouragement of the study of Oriental Lan-
guages. In this respect, therefore, a novel supplies a distinct want, and
I would respectfully commend this point to the consideration of the
powers who regulate such matters.
Of all the recognized Vernaculars in South India, Malayalam, being
confined to one district in the Madras Presidency, and the Native States
of Cochin and Travancore, is least known to the world in general, and
the influence of the new departure made by Mr. Chandu Menon would,
therefore, in itself be limited to a narrow sphere. Hence, apart from the
interest with which lndulekha inspired me, and the linguistic profit I
derived from its perusal, I thought it desirable, with Mr. Chandu Menons
permission, to assist him in his declared object by translating the work
into the lingua franca of the East. At the end of the volume will be
found a few notes in which I have endeavoured to explain certain pas-
sages relating to the social and family system peculiar to Malabar.
With regard to the translation itself, no one can be more painfully
aware than I am myself of its many shortcomings, and I would beg

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those who honour me by reading it to remember, in criticising the book
itself, that the original must have suffered from the faults of the transla-
tion. In accepting, however, my due share of responsibility, I must ex-
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press regret that, owing to a mistake by which an imperfectly corrected
proof was used as the final revise, there have occurred, in the first
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half of the work, errors and misprints which would have disappeared on
actual revision.
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PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

I began to read English novels extensively after I left Calicut in the


end of 1886, and I then devoted all the leisure which my official duties
left me, to novel reading. Thereupon I found that my circle of intimates
with whom I had been accustomed to pass the time in social conversa-
tion and amusement considered itself somewhat neglected, and I ac-
cordingly endeavoured to find means by which I could conciliate its

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members without in any degree foregoing my novels. With this object in
view, I attempted at first to convey to them in Malayalam the gist of the
story contained in some of the novels I had read, but my hearers did not
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seem particularly interested in the versions which I gave them of two or
three of these books. At last it happened that one of these individuals
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was greatly taken with Lord Beaconsfields Henrietta Temple, and


the taste then acquired for listening to novels translated orally, gradually
developed into a passion. The importunity of this personage in the mat-
ter was so great that I had seldom time to read a book on my own
account. Occasionally, even when I was alone and studying a treatise
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on law, my friend (mistaking it for a novel) would come and tease me


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saying, There again, you are reading a novel to yourself. I must have it
translated orally. Thus in one way and another, it appeared to me that
by trying not to give umbrage to my associates, I had succeeded in
giving considerable inconvenience at any rate to myself.
Finally, I was urged to produce a written translation of the novel by
Beaconsfield which I have mentioned, and I consented. But when I had
made some little progress in the work, I, thought the matter over, and
decided that a translation thus made would be absolutely without value.
I find no great difficulty in communicating to my friends who are igno-
rant of English, a fairly accurate idea of an English novel by means of
an oral rendering, but I think it is wholly impossible to transmit a correct
impression of the story through a written translation. The reason of this
is that, when the translation is written, a mere string of words is pre-
sented to the mind, and this alone is insufficient for the purpose. In
translating orally, the true force of English expressions is, at times, main-
tained, but the narrative, as a whole, can be rendered intelligible only by
elucidating, with the help of much commentary, the details appropriate
to each incident as it is related, by supplementing the pronunciation of
words and by gesture and expression. If a professedly literal translation
were interpolated with such details, explanation and commentary, then
there is no doubt that the work, as a translation, would be completely
ruined. Moreover, another obstacle is that any attempt to reproduce
literally in a written translation into Malayalam, the love passages with
which English novels abound must necessarily be far from happy. Tak-
ing, therefore, all these circumstances into consideration, I determined

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to write a Malayalam novel more or less after the English fashion and
gave my persecutor a promise to this effect. The compact was entered
into in January last, but on one pretext and another I delayed its fulfill-
ment until June. Then I was no longer able to withstand the pressure
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brought to bear on me but, commencing to write this volume on the l7th
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June, finished it on the 17th August, and thus it is that this book came
into existence.
I do not know how my countrymen will be disposed to regard a
work of this description. Those who do not understand English have
had no opportunity of reading stories cast in this mould; and I doubt if
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they will relish their first experience of this kind of literature.


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While I was engaged in writing this book, some of my friends, who


are not conversant with English, questioned me concerning the subject
I had chosen. I gave them a brief outline thereof, and perceived that
they did not approve of the new departure I had made. Indeed I know
that one individual exclaimed, What is the use of taking all this trouble?
If things have never taken place, what is the use of writing a story
about them? In answer to this, I could offer only one explanation, that
most of the books, which the world has seen are story books, and that,
while some of these books contain stories which, being styled histories,
must be believed, the notion that the events chronicled in the rest ever
actually happened, must be rejected altogether or accepted with con-
siderable reserve. Generally speaking, however, the truth seems to be
that popular appreciation of a story depends on the skill displayed in its
treatment, and is irrespective of the question whether the subject is one
of fact or of fiction. Were it otherwise, there would be no reason why
the vast majority of books should be so exclusively composed of ro-
mance. Men of intelligence, in reading books of this type, do not stop to
inquire critically whether the tale is true or imaginary, but the qualities
which they demand to rivet their attention are ingenious semblance of
reality and elegance in the elaboration of the narration.
When a person of cultivated taste and judgment reads a clever and
effectively written novel, he may feel positive from beginning to end
that none of the incidents described therein ever actually occurred, but
it is nevertheless certain that he experiences the same sensations that
he would experience if he were satisfied that the various situations had

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been borrowed directly from real life. Many a grave and reverend man
of learning, as he passes from one stage to another in a work of fiction,
admires the dexterity of the author in the construction of the plot, not-
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withstanding his convictions that the whole of what he reads is merely
the creation of an inventive mind, and many a man of calm and temper-
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ate feelings is melted to tears or moved to laughter, as pathetic or


humourous scenes are presented to his imagination. These things are of
every day occurrence among persons of ordinary education and under-
standing, and it appears to me that works of fiction are most instrumen-
tal not only in amusing but also in instructing mankind in general. Hence
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I consider it a mistake to say that a story which is not wholly and strictly
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made up of facts serves no good purpose, and I think that the points
which should receive particular care, are style and beauty of composi-
tion.
One day while I was correcting the proofs of this book another
friend also asked me what the subject was. The only answer I gave him
was that if the book was ever published, I would send him a copy and
he could then see for himself. The reply he made was as follows: It is
a good thing if the book which you are preparing treats of that branch of
English learning which is called Science, but Malabar has no need of
any book dealing with any other subjects, and these words astonished
me not a little.
Others again asked me, while I was employed on this novel, how I
expected to make it a success if I described only the ordinary affairs of
the modern life without introducing any element of the supernatural.
My answer was this: Before the European style of oil-painting began to
be known and appreciated in this country, we had, painted in defiance
of all possible existence-pictures of Vishnu as half man and half lion,
pictures of the deity of the chase, pictures of bruteheaded monsters,
pictures of the god Krishna, with his legs twisted and twined into pos-
tures in which no biped could stand and blowing a cowherds horn,
pictures of Ananthan wearing a thousand cobra-hoods, pictures of gi-
gantic demons, and all these executed with a touch and colouring so
coarse as to banish all idea of chiaroscuro, perspective and proportion.
Such productions used to be highly thought of, and those who produced
them used to be highly remunerated, but now they are looked upon by

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many with aversion. A taste has set in for pictures, whether in oil or
water colours, in which shall be delineated men, beasts, and things ac-
cording to their true appearance, and the closer that a picture is to
nature the greater is the honour paid to the artist. Just in the same way,
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if stories composed of incidents true to natural life, and attractively and
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gracefully written, are once introduced, then by degrees the old order
of books, filled with the impossible and the supernatural, will change,
yielding place to the new.
I cannot, however, claim for this book of mine any such artistic merit
as I have indicated, and I shall be much distressed if my readers think
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from what I have said that I have put forward such a claim. All that I
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mean is that if competent persons would take the subject up and pro-
duce artistic novels, the public would find pleasure in reading them.
The language I have used in this book is the language I would ordi-
narily speak at home. Although I have some knowledge of Sanskrit, I
have as a rule employed Sanskrit words only in the manner and to the
extent in which they are employed colloquially by us Malayalis. For
instance, the Sanskrit word for etymology or critical knowledge is
Vyulpaththi, in the proper Sanskrit pronunciation, but in common use it
became Vilpaththi, and I have adhered to the popular form. Many
similar examples will be found, but in the case of certain words and
compounds which have been absorbed into Malayalam, neither is the
original pronunciation nor is the original meaning preserved, and I there-
fore warn my readers before hand that I have employed such phrases
only in the usual acceptation. I may also here remark that I have used
the active and passive voice and transitive and intransitive verbs in the
mode in which they are used in ordinary conversation, and I have made
no attempt to abandon, in favour of a style modelled on pure Sanskrit
prose, the diction of Malayalis conversing in Malayalam. Of my English
readers I would beg the favour of their perusing a letter which I have
addressed to Mr. W. Dumergue, C.S., and have had printed as an ac-
companiment to this volume, before they read the book itself. In that
letter, I have met, so far as I was able to anticipate them, some of the
objections, which will be raised to certain innovations in this narrative.
In the printing of this book, Mr. Kochchu Kunjen, the Superinten-
dent of the Spectator Press, has afforded me great assistance, and I

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have much pleasure in acknowledging the intelligence and promptitude
with which he brought to my notice from time to time, as the pages
passed through the press, errors which had crept in owing to the haste
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in which my task was accomplished.
O. CHANDU MENON
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Parapanangadi,
9th December 1889.
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To
W. DUMERGUE, Esq., M. C. S.,
&c., &c., &c.,
Hosur.
Sir,
I respectfully beg to submit herewith a copy of my Malayalam novel
for your kind acceptance and perusal.
The reasons that induced me to write a novel in Malayalam are fully
set forth in the Preface.
Briefly stated, they are as follows:-
First, my wifes oft-expressed desire to read in her own language a
novel written after the English fashion, and secondly, a desire on my
own part to try whether I should be able to create a taste amongst my

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Malayalee readers, not conversant with English, for that class of litera-
ture represented in the English language by novels, of which at present
they (accustomed as they are to read and admire works of fiction in
Malayalam abounding in events and incidents foreign to nature and of-
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ten absurd and impossible) have no idea, and to see whether they could
appreciate a story that contains only such facts and incidents as may
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happen in their own households under a given state of circumstances-to


illustrate to my Malayalee brethren the position, power and influence
that our Nair women, who are noted for their natural intelligence and
beauty, would attain in society, if they are given a good English educa-
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tion; and finally-to contribute my mite towards the improvement of


Malayalam literature which I regret to observe is fast dying out by
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disuse as well as by abuse.


The book is written generally in the style of Malayalam which I
speak at home with such Sanskrit words as I might use in conversation
with an educated Malayalee.
It will be seen that my story commences with a conversation be-
tween Madhavan, the hero of the novel, and his relations (all members
of a Nair Tarwad) about a quarrel that Madhavan had with his karanavan
or chief of his house, concerning the education of a juvenile member of
the Tarwad. The events are supposed to have taken place in our own
times in some part of South Malabar. The scene of the principal events
in the story may not inappropriately be fixed at some place not far away
from Native Cochin.
The following is a list of the chief characters in the novel:-
1. Panchu Menon, the Karanavan or chief of the Chambhazhiyot
Puvalli house.
2. Panchu Menons younger brother Sankara Menon.
3. Panchu Menons direct sisters daughter Parvathi Amma.
4. Parvathi Ammas son Madhavan, B.A., B.L.
5. Panchu Menons grand-mothers sisters granddaughter Kummini
Amma.
6. Kummini Ammas son Chather Menon.
7. Do. do. Gopalan.
8. Do. daughter Kalliani Kutty.
9. Do. son Shinnan (a boy 9 or 10 years old.)
10. Panchu Menons wife Kunhi Kutty Amma.

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11. Do. daughter Lakshmi Kutty Amma.
12. Panchu Menons son Govindan Kutty Menon.
13. Lakshmi Kutty Ammas daughter and Panchu Menons grand-
daughter Indulekha.
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14. Kesavan Nambudiri, the second husband of Lakshmi Kutty Amma
who was first married to Kilimanur Rajah (since deceased) the father
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of Indulekha.
15. Madhavans father Govinda Panikkar.
Chapter 1 opens, as stated above, with a. conversation between
Chather Menon and Madhavan. Chather Menon, though ignorant of
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English, is a very intelligent and a prudent young man, and, although


Madhavan was advocating the cause of Chather Menon's own direct
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brother, did not approve of what Madhavan said to his Karanavan. The
cause of the quarrel was this:-
Madhavan wished that his Karanavan, Panchu Menon, should edu-
cate the little boy Shinnan, but Panchu Menon, who was a narrow-
minded old man of 70 years of age, did not agree with Madhavans
views and refused to pay for the boys schooling, whereupon harsh
words passed between the old Karanavan and the young graduate. The
Karanavan was exceedingly wrath with what he considered Madhavans
impertinence. Madhavan, too, was exasperated at Panchu Menons
conduct, for that honest, brave young man detested his Karanavans
partiality for his direct Anandaravans. Panchu Menon would have spent
any amount of money in educating Shinnan if the boy had been a direct
Anandaravan of his like Madhavan, but the boy (though in truth he had
as good a right to be educated at Tarwad expense as Madhavan or any
other member of the Tarwad) happened to be a distant relation of
Panchu Menon, and, as not unfrequently is the case in Malabar Tarwads,
the old, ignorant, self-willed Karanavans educate only their direct neph-
ews and bring up their distant Anandaravers as agriculturists or as ser-
vant boys in the Tarwad house. The high-spirited and honest young
Madhavan considered such conduct on the part of his Karanavan ex-
tremely reprehensible and shameful, and consequently spoke to his
Karanavan on the subject strongly, with no great reverence for the high
position of the latter in the Tarwad. The chapter concludes with a fur-
ther conversation on the same subject between Madhavan and his jun-
ior uncle Sankara Menon and his mother Parvathi Amma. This chapter

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also contains a detailed description of Madhavan both as to his physical
appearance and intellectual attainments. Madhavan is a graduate both
in Arts and Law. He is extremely handsome in appearance and ex-
traordinarily intelligent, and a good Sanskrit scholar. He excelled in sports
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and English games, such as cricket and lawn tennis.
The second chapter (Indulekha) is devoted to the heroine. The chapter
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opens with a few observations on female beauty in general considered


relatively, and then goes on describing Indulekhas personal charms,
her intelligence, her education, her manners, her dress, &c., and finally
shows how Madhavan and lndulekha became engaged.
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It must be remarked here that my story commences with the events


that happened a few months after they had plighted their troth, but in
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this second chapter I have given some incidents of Madhavans court-


ship which took place before the commencement of our story. As stated
at the outset, my object is to write a novel after the English fashion, and
it is evident that no ordinary Malayalee lady can fill the role of the
heroine of such a story. My lndulekha is not, therefore, an ordinary
Malayalee lady. She knows English, Sanskrit, Music, &c., and is at
once a very beautiful and a very accomplished young lady of about
seventeen years of age when our story opens. Some of my readers
may object that it would be impossible to find a young Nair lady of
Indulekhas intellectual attainments in Malabar. To this objection my
answer is that those who make it are not acquainted with the educated
women now existing in Malabar. I myself know two or three respect-
able Nair ladies, now living, who in intellectual culture (save and except
in the knowledge of English), strength of character and general knowl-
edge, can well hold comparison with lndulekha. As for beauty, personal
charms, refined manners, simplicity of taste, conversational powers,
wit and humour, I can show hundreds of young ladies in respectable
Nair Tarwads who would undoubtedly come up to the standard of my
lndulekha. The only thing which my readers might reasonably take ex-
ception to is lndulekhas knowledge of English; but as one of my objects
in writing this book is to illustrate how a young Malayalee woman, pos-
sessing, in addition to her natural personal charms and intellectual cul-
ture, a knowledge of the English language would conduct herself in
matters of supreme interest to her, such as the choosing of a partner in
life, I have thought it necessary that my Indulekha should be conversant

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with the richest language of the world.
It will be seen that I have related the circumstances under which
lndulekha happened to acquire a knowledge of the English language
and various other accomplishments found in her, and I shall leave it to
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my readers to decide whether there is any improbability suggesting it-
self in the narrative in connection with her education.
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As regards the story of Madhavans love and courtship itself con-


tained in this chapter, there is, in my humble opinion, nothing in the
conversation or the manners of the lovers which can be construed as
strange in a pair of the educated class of Nairs. There are many Nair
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ladies in Malabar who would talk like Indulekha to their lovers, and as
for the way the engagement was brought about, I think there is nothing
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strange or uncommon in the incident. I know of several cases of edu-


cated and accomplished Nair ladies of respectable Tarwads having
married for love in utter defiance of the wishes of their Karanavans or
parents. Love is the same whether in England or India. In Malabar it is
true that women are more or less subject to the tyranny of their
Karanavans or parents in matters relating to matrimony; yet in my opin-
ion there are no women in India who enjoy, as a class, greater freedom
in the selection of their husbands than the Nair women of Malabar.
Even before the Western civilization began to spread its influence in
Malabar, there were many Nair women who were learned in Sanskrit,
who could compose Sanskrit verses and were good musicians. Twenty
years hence there may be found hundreds of Indulekhas in Malabar
who would be able to choose their own husbands for pure and sweet
love. My narrative of the love and courtship of Madhavan is intended to
show to the young ladies of Malabar how happy they can be if they
have the freedom to choose their partners, and how supremely enjoy-
able a thing it would be for a young educated lady, at a time when she
attains a marriageable age, to observe, to study, to admire and to love a
well educated, handsome young man of unblemished moral character
like Madhavan, who becomes first her companion and friend, gets gradu-
ally closer and closer in friendship, and finally falls in love with her,
adoring her as the source of all his happiness in this world, as the person
without whom he does not care to live, and for whose happiness he
would sacrifice everything in his power. Alliances arising out of such
pure, sweet, reciprocal love only deserve to be called marriages, and it

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is my earnest desire that this should be the way in which the Nair ladies,
who already enjoy much greater freedom in respect of matrimony than
other Hindu women, should take their husbands.
The chapter concludes with an observation that though Panchu Menon
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knew enough to suspect lndulekhas inclination to marry Madhavan, he
did not at the time actually wish to prevent such a marriage. It will be
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observed that the quarrel between Panchu Menon arid Madhavan took
place a few months after their engagement. It was after the quarrel
that Panchu Menon resolved to break off the match.
Of course it will be impossible to give even a concise summary of
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the story contained in the twenty chapters (498 pages of closely printed
matter) within the limits of an ordinary letter.
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The events which follow Panchu Menons resolution to break off


the intended marriage of Indulekha with Madhavan are such as may
ordinarily happen in a Nair Tarwad in Malabar under the state of cir-
cumstances given, and call for no particular explanation. They are in-
tended to delineate the characters of various kinds of people in Malabar.
How far I have succeeded in this is a question which my readers will of
course decide. I have brought in various characters, Nairs of high and
low social status, Nambudiries of different positions, Pattar Brahmins,
&c., and have not even omitted to touch on what might, in my opinion,
be the relations between high European officials and their native friends
if they understood each other thoroughly. In order to introduce all these
subjects, I have had to extend the scene of the story sometimes beyond
Malabar.
It will be seen that Panchu Menon suspected that not only Indulekha
but her mother (who is his own daughter) was also anxious that
Madhavan should marry Indulekha, and secretly helped Indulekha and
Madhavan in the furtherance of their object. The old man becomes
almost mad with rage on knowing this, and takes an oath by his family
goddess that he would never allow Madhavan to marry Indulekha, but
the narrow-minded Karanavan soon finds himself unable to persuade
his granddaughter Indulekha to give up Madhavan. He makes various
attempts to break off the match. He makes Indulekha associate with a
very rich and influential Nambudiripad (who represents the rich, licen-
tious, profligate, unsteady Nambudiripad so often found in Malabar) in
the hope that the rich man would be able to win Indulekhas heart. The

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Nambudiripad fails shamefully in his attempt, but Panchu Menon, in
order to please the Nambudiripad, gives a niece of his (an ignorant
helpless girl) in marriage to the licentious, unprincipled man, who, while
he was making love to Indulekha was doing the same thing towards
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some other ladies also in Panchu Menons house, including Indulekhas
own mother. After the marriage with Panchu Menons niece, the
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Nambudiripad, in order to spite Indulekha, circulates a false rumor that


Indulekha has become his concubine. A cunning and mischievous
Kariasthan or steward of the Nambudiripad succeeds in making vari-
ous people believe this false report. Madhavan, while returning from
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Madras (where he had been residing ever since he left his Tarwad
house after the quarrel with his uncle) to marry Indulekha, openly disre-
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garding the old mans opposition, is informed on his way that his Indulekha
has become the wife or concubine of the Nambudiripad. Various rea-
sons, all false but apparently plausible, unfortunately compel Madhavan
to believe in the story and, having believed it, he of course feels so
miserable and so aggrieved that he leaves the country as an exile, with-
out making further enquiries, or even visiting his home in Malabar.
Madhavan goes to Northern India. Various incidents that happened during
Madhavans sojourn there are related. Indulekha, true to her lover, fi-
nally succeeds in her endeavors to find the whereabouts of Madhavan.
Madhavan learns the real state of things, and at once returns to Malabar
and marries Indulekha, The old Karanavan Panchu Menon (who, though
narrow-minded, was not altogether a bad-hearted man, and was exces-
sively fond of his granddaughter, Indulekha, yielding to the pressure of
circumstances, and retracting his oath by a penance prescribed by the
avaricious Brahmin priests for their own good, and the story concludes.
Chapter 18 was written at the special request of some of my
Malayalee friends. One half of it is devoted to a consideration .of athe-
ism, or the modern religion, as it prevails among the educated Malayalees,
and the other half to a discussion as to the merits and demerits of the
National Congress. This is brought in as a conversation between
Madhavan, his father and a cousin of Madhavan, who is also a gradu-
ate, but anti-Congress and atheistic. Madhavan is a moderate Con-
gressman and not an atheist. Madhavans father is a bigoted Hindu, and
the conversation ofcourse shows how each of the three thought of re-
ligion, and how Govinda Kutti despised the Congress, while Madhavan

KS
was a moderate supporter of it, though he finds various faults in the
present constitution and activities of the Congress which he would ad-
vise the Congress to remove.
I am afraid I have already transgressed the limits of an ordinary
O
letter, and would beg to conclude with a hope that, whatever may be the
merits of the book I have written, you will readily recognize that in
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writing it I was actuated solely by a desire to improve the status and


position of my country women generally.
I beg to remain,
Sir,
C

Your most obedient Servant,


O. CHANDU MENON
D

Parapanangadi,
19th December 1889.
Chapter I

What is the matter, Madhavan? said Chather Menon. Why did


you speak so rashly? But, man, this is not proper. The Karanavan must
do as he likes, and we must obey him. Your tongue ran away with you.
Not a bit of it replied Madhavan. Such partiality ought never to
be shown, but if he will not do his duty, why, he need not. I will take
Shinnan myself and have him educated.
KS
No, my dear, interposed Kummini amma. Shinnan and I have
never been separated. You may take Chather or Gopalan and have
O
them educated. Anyhow the head of the house is displeased with you. I
know he used to be on bad terms with us, but he always thought a great
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deal about you.


Thats all very well, retorted Madhavan, but it would be a fine
thing, wouldnt it, if I took Chather, the eldest of the sons, and Gopalan
and put them to school now?
C

While these individuals were standing talking, a servant ran up and


said that Madhavans uncle, Sankara Menon, wanted him. Madhavan
D

immediately started for his uncles apartment. We may take this oppor-
tunity of understanding Madhavans position before we proceed further
with the story.
I have already given earlier some particulars of Madhavans age, of
his relationship to Panchu Menon, and of the examinations he had passed;
and I will now tell my readers something of his character and person.
Madhavan was a young man gifted with great abilities and a re-
markably handsome appearance. The fame which he had acquired by
an uninterrupted series of triumphs in the schools from the time he
began to learn English until he graduated in arts, clearly and fully pro-
claimed the rare talents with which he was endowed. He had never
failed in an examination, be it what it might. He passed the First in Arts
22 INDULEKHA

in the first class; in the B.A. examination his optional language was
Sanskrit; his critical knowledge of Sanskrit literature was profound; and
in the B. L. examination he passed first in the first class. Besides these,
his pre-eminence in various school examinations had obtained for him
many prizes and scholarships founded for the encouragement of learn-
ing, and all his tutors firmly declared that none of their pupils ever sur-
passed Madhavan in mental power and aptitude. With regard to his
external appearance, all who knew Madhavan were of opinion that
nature had indeed provided in his form and features a fitting habitation
for an intelligence so exceptional. In analysing a mans mental qualities
it is not, as a rule, necessary to dilate on the comeliness of his person,
but it is sufficient to consider his intellectual powers and capacity, his
manliness and modesty. In the present case, however, lest my readers

KS
should consider that the details of my story are incomplete without some
description of Madhavans bodily grace and symmetry, I think it is in-
cumbent on me to devote a few words to this subject. His complexion
was like refined gold, and as he had daily attended to his physical devel-
O
opment by taking gymnastic exercises, his appearance, in all the glory
of youth, was most attractive and elegant. His well-proportioned limbs
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looked as if they had been fashioned in gold. His flowing locks, when
loosened from the knot in which they were usually tied according to the
Malayalee custom, hung down to his knees. In a word, his handsome
face, his straightforward expression, and independent bearing combined
C

with the symmetry of his form in giving him a splendid presence. All
Europeans who made Madhavans acquaintance were fascinated by
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him at first sight, and thenceforward remained his friends.


Madhavan took just pride in the favourable opinion universally en-
tertained regarding his good looks and achievements. I do not know
whether it was from fear lest he should destroy that opinion, or whether
it was owing to his inherent good sense, but it is certain that he never
indulged to the slightest extent in those vices and follies to which many
an ordinary youth, from the time he is about eighteen years of age until
he is married and settled for life, is unfortunately addicted. Hence it
was that Madhavan entered on full manhood with his personal attrac-
tions, strength and vigour unimpaired.
It follows from what has already been recorded that Madhavan had
a sound knowledge in English. He was at the same time an adept at

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