Kallukul Eeram
இந்தப் பக்கத்தை தமிழில் வாசிக்க: கல்லுக்குள் ஈரம்
Kallukkul Eeram is a novel written by R.S. Nallaperumal. It is written with Gandhi’s assassination as the backdrop; depicting the final stages of the Indian Independence Movement from a Gandhian’s perspective.
Writing, Publication
R.S. Nallaperumal researched the history of Gandhi's assassination and used it as the backdrop for the novel. Kallukkul Eeram won the second prize in the Kalki Magazine Novel Competition in 1966. It was later published in 1969.
Fourth edition of this novel came out in 1997. In the preface to this edition, the author expressed his sentiments as follows:
‘Our revolution for independence, the revolutionaries, their determination and sacrifices gave me the inspiration to write this novel. The hopes and the enthusiasm with which I created this novel are withering now, considering our country’s decadence.’
Synopsis
Rangamani, the protagonist, witnessed his father’s murder who was beaten to death by the British for being a friend to V.O. Chidambaram Pillai. A family friend, named Dikshitar, took him to Gandhiji to reform his vengeful and violent attitude. Gandhi gave him a Jesus cross as a gift which he treasured until his adulthood. However, Rangamani was stubborn to avenge his father’s death. He discontinued law school and joined an extremist group. Triveni, the daughter of the extremist group’s leader, was a believer in Gandhian principle of ahimsa. Rangamani had a change of heart after seeing Triveni’s sacrifice. As per Triveni’s request, Rangamani went to meet Gandhi and witnessed the assassination of Gandhi. The idol of the cross was bathed in blood as he attempted to hold him.
Controversies and Recognitions
The leader of the Tamil Tigers, V. Prabhakaran named Kallukkul Eeram as one of his favourite books[1]. The story of Hey Ram the Tamil movie written and directed by Kamal Haasan was regarded as almost the same as that of Kallukkul Eeram. While the resemblance was coincidental, the filmmakers later obtained written permission from R.S. Nallaperumal.
==Literary Standing-- Scepticism formed around the Gandhian movement in the 1950s. Subsequently, there were works written that rediscovered Gandhi. Kallukkul Eeram was one of them. This novel creates an analogy between Gandhi’s blood being a liberating force like Jesus Christ’s blood. It also recognizes how Gandhi, a human being, was viewed as a divine power within twenty-five years of his demise. The story of Hey Ram, the movie released in 2000, resonates with the theme of Kallukkul Eeram; it depicts the same emotions and symbolic representations as Kallukul Eeram.
References
- Rangasubramani: Kallukkul Eeram - R.S. Nallaperumal
- Vasagar koodam: Kallukkul Eeram - R.S. Nallaperumal
- Kallukkul Eeram - V.N. Giritharan
Notes
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