Tamil Historical
Novels
Tamil literature of South
India has a long history spanning more than two
millennium. Through most of its history, though, it was expressed in the form of
poetry. The novel as a mode of Tamil literature is a relatively new phenomenon,
appearing on the scene less than two centuries ago.
Prathapa Mudaliar
Charithram ("The Life of Prathapa Mudaliar"),
written in 1857 and published in 1879, was the first
novel in the Tamil
language.
The novel does not involve historical characters or events but is set in royal
times. Penned by Mayuram Vedanayakam Pillai, it was a landmark in Tamil
literature, which had hitherto seen writings only in poetry. The book gave
birth to a new literary genre and Tamil prose began to be recognized as an
increasingly important part of the language. One can see style of any Tamil
author in this novel.
Aabathukidamaana Abavadham
-or- Kamalaambaal Charithram is wriiten by Rajamyyeer from Vathalakundu in
later part of nineteenth century is the first Tamil novel depicting the real
life of people living. The author worked in Tamil daily Dinamani and had a very
short life - 26 years. Considering the period in which he lived and wrote, he
created waves in emancipation of women's life, incomparable to any social
reformist. In this story he conducted marriage to a Brahman widow. Had he lived
further and wrote more, the style of modem Tamil prose would have been
different.
Authors like Kalki Krishnamurthy, Akilan wrote historical novels during the Indian
independence movement to instill patriotic pride in the people. Most historical
novels were serialized in Tamil magazines before
being published in book form. The advent of net zines has seen new web based
historical writers entering the arena.
No comments:
Post a Comment