Of course you have read ‘Indulekha’ and ‘Marthanda Varma.’ But ‘Phulmoni Ennum Korunna Ennum Peraya Randu Sthreekalude Katha’? Or for that matter ‘Ghaathaka Vadham’? If the answer is ‘No,’ you have your opportunity now.
Fifteen 19th century novels in Malayalam - majority of them out of print and forgotten by the reading public - are getting a new life courtesy CPM publishing house Chintha Publishers.
Chintha is presenting the collection under the title ‘Novel Pazhama’ and it will be released the Government Women’s College here by writer N S Madhavan on Thursday. Edited by N Santhosh Kumar, the 15 works span a 39-year period starting 1858, has 2640 pages in all and are accompanied by exhaustive studies.
‘’Most of these novels are out of print now except for, say, ‘Kundalatha’, ‘Indulekha’ or ‘Marthanda Varma’. You will find three works that date before ‘Kundaltha.’ Two were translations,’’ Chintha general manager V K Joseph said.
The first is ‘Phulmoni Ennum Korunna Ennum Peraya Randu Sthreekalude Katha’ published in 1858, a translation of the Bengali original ‘Phulmoni O Korunnar Bibaran’ by Katharine Hannah Mullans.
This Bengali work is considered the first Indian language novel.
The second is ‘Ghathaka Vadham,’ a Malayalam translation of ‘Slayer Slain’ written by Mrs Richard Collins. Richard Collins, the author’s husband and then principal of CMS College translated the work into Malayalam and published it in 1877. ‘Pullelikkunju’ by Archdeacon Koshy came out in 1882. ‘’Whether these works were novels in the true sense is debatable. There were primitive forms, and has historical value as such,’’ Joseph said.
Appu Nedungadi’s ‘Kundalatha’ (1887), widely held as the first Malayalam novel, and O Chandu Menon’s ‘Indulekha’ (1889) billed as the first ‘perfect’ novel, come next in the list of 15. The next three in the collection are ‘Indumatheeswayamvaram’ (1890) by Padinjare Kovilakath Ammaman Raja and ‘Meenakshi’ (1890) by Cheruvalath Chathu Nair followed by the more enduring ‘Marthanda Varma’ by C V Raman Pillai published in 1891.
Four novels of 1892 have found a place in the collection - ‘Parishkarappathi’ by Kochuthomman Apothecary; ‘Sharada’ by O Chandu Menon; ‘Parangodeeparinayam’ by Kizhakkeppattu Ramankutty Menon; and ‘Lakshmikesavam’ by Komattil Padu Menon were published that year. ‘’Naaluperiloruthan Athava Naadakadyam Kavithvam’ (1893) by C Anthappayi and ‘Sukumari’ (1897) by Joseph Mooliyil completes ‘Novel Pazhama.’
Along with the 15 novels, ‘Ajnana Deshangalude Akhyanangal,’ a book on them by the series editor N Santhosh Kumar, also will be released by N S Madhavan.
‘’Apart from throwing light on the evolution of the genre in Malayalam, these works reflect the cultural history and the colonial modernity of their times. Some are the products of missionary enterprises. We have preserved the originals as much as possible, but have supplemented them explanations wherever needed using footnotes and the like,’’ Santhosh said.
Santhosh had started collecting the novels since 2000, but it was only eight years later that earnest efforts began to bring them out as a set.