Write a short note on INDULEKHA novel for class 10
Answers
The title Indulekha, refers to the prodigy in this novel, a beautiful, well educated Nair lady of 18 years.
The novel was written at a time when there was an emerging class of upper caste men (mostly Nairs) who received a Western style education, and were achieving prominent positions in British India. The period was a clash of cultures, as the educated Indians were torn between Western ideals and traditional practices. The Nambudiri Brahmins of Kerala,traditionally had marital relations with Nair women, known as Sambandham, since only the oldest Nambudiri youth was allowed to marry a Brahmin girl. The younger sons were encouraged to have Sambandham with Nair women, in order to maintain male primogeniture, since the children born from such relations belonged to their mother's family. The matriarchy practiced by the Nairs was also coming under attack during this period. Many of the Nambudiri men, though learned in Vedas and Sanskrit, had little knowledge of English and Western sciences. The novel highlights the lack of willingness of the Nambudiris to adapt to the change of times, as well as the struggle by Nair women to break out of the age-old principle of Sambandham, which had little relevance during the late 19th century.
Chandu Menon has written that he initially meant Indulekha as a translation of Benjamin Disraeli's Henrietta Temple (1836), but, having struggled with the subtleties of an alien culture, he abandoned the project in favour of writing one on his own, depicting a similar story
O. Chandu Menon wrote Indulekha a Malayalam novel in the year 1889. This novel described his leads Indulekha and Madhavan as English professional, intelligent, sensible young characters who had sound knowledge of Sanskrit language too. The protagonist of the story tutored at Madras University in Eng-lish. Even though he dressed like the western people, he wore a clump of hair as per the culture of the Nayar people. These figures like many other actors consolidated features of traditional upbringing and advanced learning to strike the appropriate balance. The figures like the public of that time and community apprehended that they would succumb their status due to English learning. Thus they persevered their cultural practices in multiple forms