A family saga
ASHOKAMITRAN
KADIVALAM – A Novel: K.S.Gowri Ammal in Tamil; Translated into English by K.S. Muthukrishnan; Writers Workshop, 162/92, Lake Gardens, Kolkata-700045. Rs. 300.
There is an entry in the Tamil Writers Who’s Who published in 1966 for Gowri Ammal: Born Bangalore, 13-4-1909; Novel, “Kadivalam” (1950). The 60-year-old Tamil novel now finds a new set of readers through an extremely competent and fluid translation by her son Muthukrishnan. Gowri Ammal was a regular contributor of short stories also in the1950s and a collection of her stories has appeared as a Kalaimagal publication as early as 1955.
“Kadivalam”, meaning reins used mainly for horses, is a freely used word in Tamil society to signify disciplining a young man with marriage. It certainly occurs at the very end of the narrative but the protagonist, the second son of a large family (not uncommon in the 1930s and 1940s) is indeed a well disciplined student of second year at college.
Theme
The novel is about the family which had just lost the mistress of the house. In her absence, the innumerable loose strands of the family with all its happy and not-so-happy possibilities held together by the lady effortlessly become major problems. As much as the lady was the binding force, the first daughter-in-law of the house is petty and divisive. The master, a man of modest means, is well-meaning but he is unequal and even ignorant of the causes of the series of misunderstandings and estrangements. The young man finds himself more an errand boy than one pursuing higher studies. He is compelled to discontinue college and go to work to help his father make both ends meet in the face of some really necessary household expenses but quite a few exploitative expenses of some members of the family.
He finds himself with a job in Delhi as a journalist (Again, not an uncommon occurrence some 70 years ago. Not only newspapers and general interest magazines of the North but even financial journals were manned and even headed by Tamils.) A brief biography of the author is thoughtfully given and it is to the credit of the women of that generation to be insightful with the very few opportunities they had, and with practically very little formal education.
Credible
Kadivalam tells an extremely eventful and credible story without any flourishes of style, again a sign of immense maturity and self-confidence of the author. In spite of being a community specific novel, it should have been an engrossing experience to the Tamil readers. In translation, it should appeal to a wider readership. The author’s artistry in weaving out an extremely interesting drama out of simple, domestic events is remarkable.
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