<p>This book is a social record and a personal account of the life of Namboodiri women in the first few decades of the 20th century in Kerala. <br /><br />The writer, Devaki Nilayangode, started writing her childhood recollections in Malayalam when she was 75, and her writing appealed to the readers for its simplicity, candour, liveliness and for the exotic value of the world it described.<br /><br /> Life in illams, the households of Namboodiris, who dominated Kerala’s economic, political and cultural life for centuries, was difficult for the women, known as antharjanams. In the tradition-bound inner chambers of illams, women had no voice, rights or authority and their lives revolved around daily chores of cooking and poojas and prayers. They were not allowed to look at men; nor did men have a chance to look at them. Education did not go beyond the alphabet.<br /><br />Even the birth of girls was not considered auspicious, mainly because of the burden of dowry they would later bring on the family. Nilayangode describes in great detail the travails girls and women had to undergo, the rituals, the conventions, the ambience and atmosphere of the world they grew up in. Human relationships were different in the exclusive and frozen households. She notes that “men very rarely saw their daughters. Conversations between them were rarer still. In fact, in those days it was considered wrong to pay special attention to one's children.”<br /><br />Nilayangode was born in a relatively prosperous household and was married at the age of 15 into another prosperous, but less traditional, family. That was the time when the community was in the grip of social changes, pioneered by men and, in much smaller numbers, women too. Nilayangode gives fascinating accounts of the tensions and conflicts such changes brought about. Her accounts are deeply human and she invokes personalities from her past, places them in the context of their environment and vividly describes them.<br /><br />A lost world is reborn with those accounts, recollected in tranquility. All aspects of life are sensitively portrayed — the dress habits, the games played by children, the nature of customs, celebration of festivals, food habits, means of transport, relationships with servants, weather, vegetables and whatever little entertainment was available. <br /><br />Untouchability and unapproachability were strictly practised and the readers get to know the ridiculous extent to which these affected the daily lives of both men and women.<br />The book is a collection of writings selected from two books of memoirs and some articles published in Malayalam. <br /><br />The translators, Indira Menon and Radhika P Menon, have a done a good job. Though Nilayangode’s style is simple, it is not always easy to translate because of its nuances and the difficulties in conveying the sense of some words and expressions which are specific to Namboodiris. The translators were able to recreate the world painted well by the writer.<br /><br />Women of other communities elsewhere have also suffered from oppression and discrimination, though their nature and severity have varied. They still continue in many ways. Nilayangode’s account is valuable not only for the light it throws on the lives of Namboodiri women but also as a part of the larger history of women in all societies.<br /><br />The book is in the form of short articles on people, events, occasions and places which together hold a mirror to a society and times which do not exist now. But it may not only be the rich and varied sociological information in the book that may interest a reader. It may also be read as excellent fiction. This is not to question the authenticity of the narrative. <br /><br />It is also not because it transports the reader to a strange and unbelievable world, unfamiliar to a reader outside the community and of this age. Every chapter is a story, and together all the vignettes become a grand narrative. The writer’s sincerity makes it truer than common truth. Radhika P Menon refers to the absence of moral judgment on the part of the writer when she writes her account.<br /><br /> The writer actually comes out as an observer of the world in which she is involved. The almost impersonal attitude, devoid of rancour, gives her a clear vision. The environment in which the writer grew up may have helped her to efface the individual in her and to look at her life and world as a dispassionate observer. As in all good writing, it only enhances and brightens up the personal element.<br /><br />It is remarkable that a woman starts remembering her past, after she turns 75, and presents it to the world in so very minute details, with such sensitivity and sophistication. It is sometimes a terrible world that she paints but the beauty born of it is not terrible. The illustrations by artist Namboodiri add value to the book.<br /></p>
<p>This book is a social record and a personal account of the life of Namboodiri women in the first few decades of the 20th century in Kerala. <br /><br />The writer, Devaki Nilayangode, started writing her childhood recollections in Malayalam when she was 75, and her writing appealed to the readers for its simplicity, candour, liveliness and for the exotic value of the world it described.<br /><br /> Life in illams, the households of Namboodiris, who dominated Kerala’s economic, political and cultural life for centuries, was difficult for the women, known as antharjanams. In the tradition-bound inner chambers of illams, women had no voice, rights or authority and their lives revolved around daily chores of cooking and poojas and prayers. They were not allowed to look at men; nor did men have a chance to look at them. Education did not go beyond the alphabet.<br /><br />Even the birth of girls was not considered auspicious, mainly because of the burden of dowry they would later bring on the family. Nilayangode describes in great detail the travails girls and women had to undergo, the rituals, the conventions, the ambience and atmosphere of the world they grew up in. Human relationships were different in the exclusive and frozen households. She notes that “men very rarely saw their daughters. Conversations between them were rarer still. In fact, in those days it was considered wrong to pay special attention to one's children.”<br /><br />Nilayangode was born in a relatively prosperous household and was married at the age of 15 into another prosperous, but less traditional, family. That was the time when the community was in the grip of social changes, pioneered by men and, in much smaller numbers, women too. Nilayangode gives fascinating accounts of the tensions and conflicts such changes brought about. Her accounts are deeply human and she invokes personalities from her past, places them in the context of their environment and vividly describes them.<br /><br />A lost world is reborn with those accounts, recollected in tranquility. All aspects of life are sensitively portrayed — the dress habits, the games played by children, the nature of customs, celebration of festivals, food habits, means of transport, relationships with servants, weather, vegetables and whatever little entertainment was available. <br /><br />Untouchability and unapproachability were strictly practised and the readers get to know the ridiculous extent to which these affected the daily lives of both men and women.<br />The book is a collection of writings selected from two books of memoirs and some articles published in Malayalam. <br /><br />The translators, Indira Menon and Radhika P Menon, have a done a good job. Though Nilayangode’s style is simple, it is not always easy to translate because of its nuances and the difficulties in conveying the sense of some words and expressions which are specific to Namboodiris. The translators were able to recreate the world painted well by the writer.<br /><br />Women of other communities elsewhere have also suffered from oppression and discrimination, though their nature and severity have varied. They still continue in many ways. Nilayangode’s account is valuable not only for the light it throws on the lives of Namboodiri women but also as a part of the larger history of women in all societies.<br /><br />The book is in the form of short articles on people, events, occasions and places which together hold a mirror to a society and times which do not exist now. But it may not only be the rich and varied sociological information in the book that may interest a reader. It may also be read as excellent fiction. This is not to question the authenticity of the narrative. <br /><br />It is also not because it transports the reader to a strange and unbelievable world, unfamiliar to a reader outside the community and of this age. Every chapter is a story, and together all the vignettes become a grand narrative. The writer’s sincerity makes it truer than common truth. Radhika P Menon refers to the absence of moral judgment on the part of the writer when she writes her account.<br /><br /> The writer actually comes out as an observer of the world in which she is involved. The almost impersonal attitude, devoid of rancour, gives her a clear vision. The environment in which the writer grew up may have helped her to efface the individual in her and to look at her life and world as a dispassionate observer. As in all good writing, it only enhances and brightens up the personal element.<br /><br />It is remarkable that a woman starts remembering her past, after she turns 75, and presents it to the world in so very minute details, with such sensitivity and sophistication. It is sometimes a terrible world that she paints but the beauty born of it is not terrible. The illustrations by artist Namboodiri add value to the book.<br /></p>
