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Literary Review
Soul of Thiruvananthapuram
K. KUNHIKRISHNAN
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The translation fails to capture the nuances of the original.
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Where The Lord Sleeps; Neela Padmanabhan, Translated by M Dakshinamurthy, Indian Writing, Rs. 200.
Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, gets its name from the imposing and impressive Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The rulers of erstwhile Travancore ruled as servants of the deity, PallikondaPerumaal, calling themselves Padmanabha dasa.
Life in the city centred on the palace and the temple. Neela Padmanabhan has beautifully captured the spirit of those days, through the life of a clerk, Ananthan Nair, who was retrenched from the services of the Maharaja. The novel was published in Tamil in 1970 as Pallikondapuram and highly lauded. However, it took several years for such a highly acclaimed work to be published in English!
Philosophical questions
This period novel raises many philosophical and ethical questions through the vicissitudes in the life of Ananthan Nair, the central character. His life is marked by intrigues, immorality, feuds, corruption, pathos, hope and pompousness. He seeks solace in philosophy, but failure in life haunts him and he constantly introspects over his failed life as a husband who could not satisfy his wife economically, socially or physically.
Written in a simple and direct style, the novel sensitively portrays the soul and spirit of the town and brings out the conflicts of modernity and tradition. The early days of protests and shouting against the ruling class are also indicated in the novel portending the over-politicisation, which is now crippling the very soul of the city. Like Ananthan Nair, the city, with its dejected soul, is in incessant nostalgia. Gone are the days of the regal splendour, festivities and pageants of the royal days. Those feudal luxuries are replaced by modern spectacles, and the novel indicates the imminent transformation.
The novelist is thorough with the topography of Pallikondapuram, (he does not use the word Thiruvananthapuram), its streets, temples, landmarks and major buildings in the nooks and corners symbolically setting the mood of the main character.
Ananthan Nair marries the stunningly beautiful Kartyayani but contracts tuberculosis. Despite regaining his health after treatment, he cannot lead a life of conjugal bliss. He has two children and living is tough for a lower division clerk. During the festive Aarattu procession, the gorgeous Kartyayani catches the eye of Vikraman Tampi, the Tahsildar. He frequents Ananthan Nair’s house with lavish gifts and gives him an out-of-turn promotion, leading him to doubt his wife. Kartyayani, ill treated and abused by her husband, runs away with the highly-placed Tahsildar.
Crestfallen Ananthan Nair rejects help from his brother (a film actor) and sister and brings up his daughter and son.
The meaninglessness of caste dawned on Ananthan Nair and the confrontation with the son and the devotion of the daughter puts an end to all his miseries.
The translation fails to capture the nuances of the original expressions and leaves a lot to be desired.
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