Perumal Murugan 's aaLaanda patchi (ஆளாண்ட பட்சி )
just completed Perumal Murugan 's aaLaanda patchi (ஆளாண்ட பட்சி ).
a very satisfying novel. it deals with a very deep subject, the split of a joint family and the struggle of a short changed survivor to establish himself back in the world.
along the way, it was a fascinating lesson for me, about a part of tamil nadu kongu community in all its flavours - rural, agricultural, land loving, food habits, blood relations, relationships through marriage, and (ofcourse) the dynamics between kongu velalars/chaklis, both tied to each other at the hips, and yet divided by the chemistry of caste.
murugan's sir strength, in my experience, is his ability to present complexity in a simple yet flavourful language of the region. i found it fascinating, that a north malabar antecedent person found many many words in common with kongu thamizh, and absent from the madras of teh 1950s 60s where i grew up. then madras thamizh is about 40% telugu anff 20% other languages, i think.
the conversion of a virgin land to potential agriculture was fascinating, particularly the contribution of the great grand mother.
of also interest was the medicinal skills of the household indentured servant kuppan, who perumal sir treats with a respect befitting his age, and i sincerely hope that the reflection of the same by muthu/raasa is more in trend with the reality of today.
the ever present romantic in me, waited for the re entry of perumaa, the long suffereing wife, and the namesake of the title. but alas i was disappointed, but the ending promised, a part 2 of this book?
as with all perumal murugan's works, i need time to get this story sink into my system, and eventually recover from it. a couple of months. and then there is another one waiting for me... kooLa maadhaari (கூள மாதாரி).
further to the above, it appears common for the youngest brother of a family of mulitple sons, to be short changed in inheritance. i have a case in my own extended family, where the father built up a mullti crore industry, and on his death, the the two older brothers, cheated the youngest sibling out of all wealth.
the youngster was plied with drugs and alcohol, and knew nothing of the hundreds of papers that he signed away in glory... and willingly and supposedly knowingly, giving away his interest in the inheritance, for a pitiable monthly allowance, which barely fed his appetite for the drugs; and turned his wife & children back to her family for succour and subsistence.
just completed Perumal Murugan 's aaLaanda patchi (ஆளாண்ட பட்சி ).
a very satisfying novel. it deals with a very deep subject, the split of a joint family and the struggle of a short changed survivor to establish himself back in the world.
along the way, it was a fascinating lesson for me, about a part of tamil nadu kongu community in all its flavours - rural, agricultural, land loving, food habits, blood relations, relationships through marriage, and (ofcourse) the dynamics between kongu velalars/chaklis, both tied to each other at the hips, and yet divided by the chemistry of caste.
murugan's sir strength, in my experience, is his ability to present complexity in a simple yet flavourful language of the region. i found it fascinating, that a north malabar antecedent person found many many words in common with kongu thamizh, and absent from the madras of teh 1950s 60s where i grew up. then madras thamizh is about 40% telugu anff 20% other languages, i think.
the conversion of a virgin land to potential agriculture was fascinating, particularly the contribution of the great grand mother.
of also interest was the medicinal skills of the household indentured servant kuppan, who perumal sir treats with a respect befitting his age, and i sincerely hope that the reflection of the same by muthu/raasa is more in trend with the reality of today.
the ever present romantic in me, waited for the re entry of perumaa, the long suffereing wife, and the namesake of the title. but alas i was disappointed, but the ending promised, a part 2 of this book?
as with all perumal murugan's works, i need time to get this story sink into my system, and eventually recover from it. a couple of months. and then there is another one waiting for me... kooLa maadhaari (கூள மாதாரி).
further to the above, it appears common for the youngest brother of a family of mulitple sons, to be short changed in inheritance. i have a case in my own extended family, where the father built up a mullti crore industry, and on his death, the the two older brothers, cheated the youngest sibling out of all wealth.
the youngster was plied with drugs and alcohol, and knew nothing of the hundreds of papers that he signed away in glory... and willingly and supposedly knowingly, giving away his interest in the inheritance, for a pitiable monthly allowance, which barely fed his appetite for the drugs; and turned his wife & children back to her family for succour and subsistence.
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