காவல்கோட்டம் - சு. வெங்கடேசன்

This is a huge book both in terms of pages and weight (!). I read everyday one to two hours for almost 3 months to finish this book.  The only motivation to start this book was "Madurai". For us southerners Madurai is a gateway to modern cities.  For everything from education to shopping we go to Madurai. But unfortunately no one taught us the history this wonderful city.  So when I got this book I immediately started reading.

This book is about 600 years history of Madurai starting from Viswanatha Nayakar reigns till the collapse of oor kaval. (1310-1910). The book details the administration under Viswanatha and various battles he fought and the construction of Madurai fort. The war scenes were beautifully portrayed specially the way the author name the different communities of soldiers under different banner.This part of the book is a fast read and interesting too. The rest of the book tells the decline of Nayak kingdom and rise of British rule.

The destruction of the fort was explained in a very emotional manner. The symbol of the glorious olden days was destroyed on the order of the collector Blackburn.The opening of the first police station and people's reaction towards it specially about the police dress was told in a enjoyable manner. The slow rise of Christianity and missionaries works were covered in the second part of the book specially towards 1900.

Many incidents described in this book are very interesting - one such incident was the story of "Aravan" movie.The second part of the book details life of  Kallar community and their reputation for thievery and Kaaval . I'm not sure why the author needs to give so much pages for this particular community. Is he glorifies the act of stealing?. So many rituals and customs of this community is explained in details - the story of "மொண்டிக்கொம்பு "  and "ராஜகளவு  - theft judged on the basis of technique and bravery not by the stolen things".  Very interesting and good to know.

The description of the Great Famine of 1876-1978 was something one cannot forget easily. The story of two remarkable women - Nallathangaal (நல்லதங்காள் ) and Kunjsaraththammaal (குஞ்சரத்தம்மாள் ) was something I will never forget. There are so many  related and unrelated stories throughout the book which gives lots of historical informations.

I think the author struggled to write a good story from the materials he collected from various resources like missionaries , British documents and people's memory. Apparently the author collected materials for this novel for ten years.I felt that many stories and historical informations were inserted as the story do not have any theme. May be that's the plus point of this novel. I do not have any idea of most of the historical events described in this novel . So I searched in internet and found some information. And I realized that the author did good job but may be good proof-reader would have made the whole content better.

On page 458 I read the name "Pamban" and about the prison there, wow, Pamban is my native but I never heard anything about the prison except there is a street called "Jail theru". I called many people there and asked them about it to my shock no one knows about it. I searched online but I did not succeed . Its a shame. On Page 485 to 487, there are some details of how the construction of the railway bridge was started.

• -First meeting headed by William Kare /Carey (Im not sure about exact name)
• -The plan was announced by Captain William Fraser
• -Work started in 1838
• -The pros & cons of the construction of the bridge was reported by Lieutenant Colonel Cotton
• -Total expanse 15 lac rupees
• - Reduce the journey European ships travelling to India by 36 hours
• - 100 feet light house was constructed with light reaching 14 miles

On page 629, the letter writtten by James Patricks to Richard Greenville explains why the British government decided to built the prison in Paman though there was no police station or court there, Britishers sent the accused and convicted to the prison in Pamban and used them for bridge construction work. Many fishermen were  arrested and forced to work on the construction,

Two of the great modern Tamil writers - Jeyamohan and S.Ramakrishnan wrote complete contrasting reviews for this book .I'm reading both these authors website daily -both their reviews make sense to me. The author did not give any credit to others and to make things worse there is no bibliography also. I don't know much about Madurai history and for me this book is neither fiction nor a non-fiction. I need to read more about this wonderful city.

The writing was mix of good ,flat and at times very hard to proceed. The language of the people did not change in 300+ years in this novel.  This novel received Sahitya akademi award.Read if you have time and want to know more about Madurai.

A classic and ordinary.!

கருக்கு - பாமா

Tour de force! One hell of a story. This is a story of a Dalit woman and her struggle against the caste system.  It seems this  novel is sort of auto-fiction and it makes real sense because of the emotion it brings.

கடவுள் அன்பு, இரக்கம், சாந்தம் கொண்டவர். பாவங்களை மன்னிப்பவர், பொறுமையானவர், மென்மையானவர், தாழ்ச்சி, கீழ்படிதல் உள்ளவர் என்று சொல்லித்தரும் கிறிஸ்துவ மடங்கள் அவர் நீதி, நேர்மை மிகுந்தவர், அநீதி கண்டு பொங்குபவர், போலித்தனத்தை எதிர்ப்பவர், ஏற்றத்தாழ்வு காட்டாதவர் என்பதை எப்பொழுதும் சொல்லித்தருவதே இல்லை.

The story starts with a introduction of the village and its settings- typical. The author highlights the conflicts between the two low caste people and how the police utilized those opportunities to beat up the lowest of them.  The author irrespective of caste issues finished her schoolings and college education and joined as a teacher in a school. After few years she joins in a convent hoping to serve poor but was struck by the vast indifference shown by the fellow nuns and the administration.  The author very painfully explains the deep rooted casteism in the convent. The author also highlights how in convent the students were brainwashed and made to obey orders without asking any questions. Wherever she goes the caste follows her.

ஆம்புள பொம்பல அம்புட்டுப்பேரும் இப்படித் தெனமும் தேஞ்சு போக ஒழைக்குறதுக்கு எம்புட்டு முன்னுக்கு வரலாம். அப்படின்னும் நெனப்பேன். ஆனா இவுக ஒழைக்குறதுக்குத் தக்கன கூலி கெடைக்குறுது இல்ல. அதுலகூட ஒரே வேலை ஆம்பளையும் பொம்பளையும் செஞ்சாக்கூட ஆம்பளைக்கு ஒரு சம்பளம் பொம்பளைக்கு ஒரு சம்பளம் தான் ஆம்பளைக்கு கொஞ்சம் கூடுதலான சம்பளம் தர்ராங்க ஏன்னுதான் வெளங்க மாட்டிங்குது

The essence of village life with its innocences and beauty comes alive in the initial chapters specially during author's childhood. The rituals and customs of the Christian Dalit community was told in a uncompromising manner specially how these people celebrates their festivals and how they were used by the priests.  The Dalits work from dawn to dust but they are struggling to have three meals a day - the author could not understand this initially.

ஊர்தேசம் போம்போது வண்டிகள்ள சேந்துகூட ஒக்கார அருவருப்பு படற அளவுக்கு என்னத்துல நாங்க அசிங்கமா போனோம்? என்னமோ பெருவியாதிக்காரன பாக்குற மரில்ல நம்மள பாக்குறாக. எங்குட்டுப் போனாலும் இடிதான் வலிதான். இதுக்கு ஒரு விடிவுகாலமே வராதா? படிச்சவ படிக்காதவன்னு வித்தியாசமே இல்ல. எல்லா பெய மக்களும் சாதிவெறி புடுச்சித்தான் அலையுதுக. எது என்ன, கடவுளுக்காக சேவ செய்யப் போறோம்னு சொல்லிக்கிட்டு போற கன்னியாஸ்திரிமாரு, சாமியாருக கூட சாதி வித்தியாசம் பாக்கத்தாஞ் செய்றாக. ஏந்தா இந்த சாதில பெறந்தோம்னு கூட நெனச்சு கஸ்டப்பட்டுருக்கேன். தலித்துகன்னா மனுசப் பெறவிக இல்லையா? இவுகளுக்கு புத்தி இல்லையா? மான மரியாத ஒன்னும் இல்லியா? அவுகளுக்குன்னு அறிவு, அழகு, அந்தஸ்துன்னு எதுவுமே இல்லியா? எதுல கொறஞ்சி போனாக?

It seems names and characters are  real, the author used these things as in her village .The author highlights the importance of education through her brother Raj Gowthaman - a writer, who encouraged her to study hard,She firmly believes that education will make these people question everything instead of just accept everything specially things related to their caste.

The author got lots of threats and comments from different people , in fact after the publication of this book she went to his brother's house and stayed  there for sometime. I wonder how come the church allowed the publication this book. On the other hand it was some priests who helped her to edit and publish it. The big highlight of this book is its language - the spoken language of this people, though bit hard at times to read but it perfectly makes sense.

This is not the story of the author alone, this is the story of millions of Dalits who faces discrimination everywhere. This book tells the particular communities life with its ups and down without compromising anything. This book was translated by Oxford publication and was introduced in English Literature courses as one of the book of Dalit literature.

A must read.