MALAYALAM
Fiction anthology
NEELA PADMANABHAN
NALU PENNUNGAL: Thakazhi Sivasankarapillai; Rainbow Book Publishers, Chengannur, Kerala-689124. Rs.50.
THIS BOOK highlights eight stories of the famous Malayalam writer of yesteryear Thakazhi Sivasankarapillai all dealing with women. These stories written in the 1950s and 1960s have now come to limelight once again since Adoor Gopalakrishnan utilised his stories for his two recent films.
The first and the last stories are about spinsters in different circumstances. In the first story, Nitya Kanyaka, Kamakshi whose younger sister and brother got married remains a spinster throughout her life though she has an inner longing to get married. In the last story, Kanyaka, though Kumari is married to Narayanan she remains a spinster because he does not have any interest in her.
Chinnu Amma in the story named after her gets married but could not give birth to a child and never cares to sacrifice her chastity by surrendering herself to another man for a child.
Some of Thakazhi’s female characters are not only bold but also clever and calculative as Pankiamma in the story Pankiamma. She is married to a man who has plenty of fertile land, but she allows another man who has cash to approach her leading the two to fight resulting in imprisonment to both men.
At last when these two men return from imprisonment united they see Pankiamma, who is the rightful owner of their property and money, living with her new husband and child.
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