Book Review 1: Indulekha - O Chandumenon

(Written in 2010)

In the pressure and mounting tension of my first semester examinations of standard 10, everything other than my lessons seemed to be my focus. As my social studies neared, me pacing up and down through every room of my house, trying to remember the most trivial details in the book was a common sight indeed! Social studies is my favorite subject, but the kind of torture history was meting on me made me despise the subject. As this saga of reading and cursing continued, one little detail in the book caught my attention- the mention of a novel- Indulekha written by mallu author Chandumenon. It was a nice feeling to see a malayali author getting a good 1.5 sides to himself in a standard 10 history textbook. (Call it mallu sympathy or whatever). Thanks to the exams, my admiration had to stop there. After the exams, when I was scanning my aunt’s book shelf for a good book to read, my eyes caught sight of a beautiful malayali girl and the words ‘Indulekha’ written above her. That’s when I sat down to read this book.

“Aristocratic, accomplished, educated in English and incomparably beautiful, Indulekha loves her cousin Madhavan who returns her devotion and holds revolutionary views. She fights a composed and witty battle to fob off the lecherous and elderly Surinambuthiripad who seeks a sambandam with her. When Indulekha uses the first person singular as she rejects his advances, her action reverberates across Nair society” This is what the back of the book read. A look at this and one could definitely conclude that Indulekha was quite a bold book which dealt about avant-garde ideas and one that was quite interestingly woman-centric.

Indulekha which dealt with several topics- the idea of a sambandam, society’s view of Nair women, the prevailing social order, the varying approaches to English education and a subtle love story woven within all this, made this book a very interesting read. The charming, well educated and amazingly good looking Madhavan captures every female reader’s heart. His bold outlook, frank and ambitious nature is truly venerable. Indulekha, portrayed as a beauty with a whole lot of brains, makes a perfect companion for Madhavan. Chandumenon needs to be commended for the way he has described her beauty. It sort of brings the character alive in flesh and blood right before your eyes.  The book brings out several things other than the love story of the protagonists. The way of life, the customs and thoughts prevalent are all sewn into this story with a certain simplicity and elegance. Considering that it was written in the late 18^th century, the book is well ahead of its time in terms of the thoughts that form the foundation of this novel. The follies of Suri Nambuthiripad and his portrayal as a very ignorant and foolish man though of noble blood, makes the reader immediately turn a blind eye on him. However not all is dismal in the Nambuthiri camp. The witty and clever Cheruserinambuthiripad, impresses with his sarcasm and sense of humour and also empathy and is quite a likeable character. Indulekha, a silent sufferer, Madhavan, a hopeless love sick romantic pining without his lady love bring in the emotional factor of romance into the story. The amazingly flowing way in which the book has been written makes us travel along with the characters across various hurdles in their lives. The story just comes alive before us, and I won't be surprised if you too, like me, find yourself immersed in the story.

Practices of polyandry, expecting women to comply with the needs of men are all topics that are quite extensively dealt with through this novel. Chandumenon, a Nair, penned this novel down at a time when tensions were rising between the Nair Community and that of the Nambuthiripads regarding rules of marriage and stature.  The educated Nairs were slowly carving their own niche in society, rejecting the old and dying norms put forth by the Nambuthiripads. Indulekha depicts Keralan society with great élan. The book is sure to be of use to enthusiasts of history, sociological studies and literature. Its simplicity and bold baseline, and a very sweet and touching love story is perhaps what makes this book the only novel to have been reprinted nearly every year for over a century.