Oru Kadalora Gramathin Kathai (Novel)
இந்தப் பக்கத்தை தமிழில் வாசிக்க: ஒரு கடலோர கிராமத்தின் கதை(நாவல்)
Oru Kadalora Gramathin Kathai is the first novel written by author Thopil Mohammad Meeran. The story of a coastal village caught in the iron grip of economic power and religion. Superstitions, exploitation, sexual abuse, the struggle for self-respect of the poor in the midst of the power, and the collapse of the feudal society are all told in this work. It got the attention of the Tamil literary world when it was published.
Author
Thopil Mohammad Meeran recorded the Islamic life and culture in modern Tamil literature without diminishing their vigor, with artistic aesthetics and became a continuation of the tradition of Tamil realistic writing. He has written novels like Saivu Narkali, Koonan Thoppu, Thuraimugam, Anjuvannam Theru, Anandasayanam Colony. Thopil Mohammad Meeran translated the life story of Vaikkam Mohammad Basheer. His Novle Saivu Narkali won the Sahitya Academy award for the year 1997.
Creation and Publication
Oru Kadalora Gramathin Kathai was serialized in Muslim Murasu magazine and later collected and published on his own initiative as a novel in 1988. Thopil Muhammad Meeran had said in an interview that he wrote this novel from the stories told by his vappa (father). In late 1989, it was selected as the best novel by the Tamil Nadu Council of Arts and Literature. Subsequently, the novel was made a textbook for BA and MA classes by Kerala University, Madurai, Coimbatore and Thanjavur Tamil Universities. Kalachuvadu published the novels first edition in 2004 and a revised second edition in 2007.
Synopsis
The head and the first resident of the village and the boss of the northern house is Ahmedu Kannu. The novel portrays his family, his wife, his sister Nuhu Fatima, who was widowed at the age of thirteen, her son Farheed, and the boss's daughter Ayesha, who loves Farheed. The whole village is subject to his authority. Impichigoyath Tangal is gaining influence among the villagers as a great sage. In the name of religion both Ahmedu Kannu and Tangal exercise power over the villagers. Mahmud, a shark trader, refuses to submit to their authority and is indifferent.
The government orders to build a school in the village. Ahmedu and Tangal are fiercely opposed to it and point to religion and believe it will lead people to hell. Ignorant people buy into the idea also do not feel the need for school. Poor Mahmud gives his daughter's land which he was holding it as dowry for her marriage for the school. He is thrown out of town. He proudly recites Quran at home and completes the marriage of his daughter. The school opens. The village slanders the teacher Mehboob Khan and his wife who comes to teach at the school. Mehboob Khan struggles hard to make children come to school.
The downfall of the boss Ahmedu Kannu begins and Tangal leaves the town due to a disagreement with the boss. Ayesha gets married and returns to find that the groom is insane. Farheed also leaves town. The deranged boss sets fire to the school. Ayesha falls into the river and dies.
Characters
- Vadakku Veethi Ahmedu Kannu Muthalali - Head of the Village
- Nuhu Fatima - The boss's younger sister who was widowed at a very young age
- Ayesha - Daughter of head of the village
- Fahreed - Nuhu Fatima's son
- Seyithina Muhammad Mustafa Impichigoyath Tangal - A religious leader, Tangal means a direct bloodline of the Prophet Muhammad
- Mothinar Asanar Lebbay - In charge of the mosque
- Mahmud - A shark dealer, a person who refuses to submit to authority
- Mehboob Khan - A teacher who comes to teach in a school
- Noor Jahan - Mehboob's wife
Literary Significance, Assessment
Oru Kadalora Gramathin Kathai introduced a new domain and way of life to the Tamil novels. Written in the language of the Kumari coastal area, the soil-based culture, the speech of the Muslims and the language based on the mythological symbols of the Islamic religion, this novel is a pioneering work in Tamil that naturally presents the Islamic way of life.
Oru Kadalora Gramathin Kathai reveals the picture of the oppression and resulting violence inflicted on the common people throughout history. Meeran speaks to the simple people through Mahmud, who stands up beyond the context and sees the truth, and Mehboob Khan. He presents what he saw.
The style and aesthetics of Malayalam writer Vaikam Mohammad Basheer are visible in spare sentences. Example- A boy's answer to the question of five and five is five as big as an elephant's head.
In this novel, Meeran depicts the decay of a society where every human being is bound by invisible shackles, oppressed and oppressed as its rigidity breaks down and collides with new ideas. It shows both liberation and destruction brought about by change. It is this duality that makes Oru Kadalora Gramathin Kathai such an important work.
This novel appears in the list based on Recommendation from a Critics in both Writer Jayamohan[1] and S. Ramakrishnan's[2] list as one of the best novels in Tamil. In the words of Jeyamohan "Meeran is a Ki.Ra. style demonstrative village story teller. The interiority of the village that comes through his keen eye is not susceptible to externalities. Ignorance, slavery and exploitation on one side and struggle for self-respect, untainted passion and loving relationships on the other. A ceaseless struggle between these - this is Meeran's village. All his novels and stories are of a coastal village."
Reference
- Thopil Mohammad Meeranin Kalaiyum Karuthunilaiyum - Writer Jeyamohan
- Silicon Shelf - Oru Kadalora Gramathin Kathai
- Keetru Magazine - Oru Kadalora Gramathin Kalaikural
Footnotes
✅Finalised Page
