Abstract: A literary work becomes a very effective instrument of social change when the author has the motive to rebel against the social atrocities of a particular period. Such works play their role as messiahs by attracting a large number of people to follow their message. The latter half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century are marked by the appearance of literary works which contributed a lot in awakening the Namboodiri community which was steeped in rigid orthodoxy. Moothiringode Bhavathrathan Namboodiripad who wrote the novel Appha nte Makal was one of the social reformers. The work is representative of the social revolution that took place, since its main theme is the removal of conventionalism and orthodoxy. This article examines the language employed in the novel, which covertly signalled social change.
Keywords: social reformation, Sankritic Malayalam, literary style, progressive style, conventionalism and orthodoxy, social status
When an author attempts at creation, with a motive to rebel against the social atrocities of a particular period, the resultant work becomes a very effective instrument of social change. Such works play their role as messiahs by attracting a large number of people to follow their message. If the work happens to be based on a story the character in it becomes more life -like than ordinary living people. They become models for people to follow and remain immortal in their minds.
During the latter half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, literary works contributed a lot in awakening the Namboodiri community, which was steeped in rigid orthodoxy. The Namboodiris of Kerala, till then were bound by rules of a domineeringly patriarchal mode. Till then, in this community, only the eldest son of the family married women within the community. The younger brothers known as apphanmaar married women belonging to the Kshatriya families or Nair families. This was not a full-fledged marriage pact by definition. It was rather a contract called sambandham, which could be effected and dissolved easily. The children born of such marriages had no right to the wealth of the father. Social rules decreed that they were not allowed to consider their father and his kin as their own, although strong consanguineal bonds existed. The elder son of the Namboodiri family who only had the right to marry within the community could have many wives from his own community. In addition, he could marry Kshatriya and Nair women. The inner recesses of a Namboodiri dwelling of those times were full of the frustration, unhappiness and tears of co-wifehood.
It was against this social set up, that rebellion arose during the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Many youngsters felt the need for change and they started working for it. Activists like V.T. Bhattathiripad, M.R. Bhattathiripad, and M.P. Bhattathiripad helped accelerate the movement by writing skits which focused on the pertinent social theme. Another active reformer and author was Moothiringode Bhavathrathan Namboodiripad who has written the novel Apphante Makal and many other short stories. Apphante Makal is representative of the social revolution that took place, since its main theme is the ultimate removal of conventionalism and orthodoxy. The present article aims to examine the language employed in the novel, which covertly signalled social change.
The Story
Apphante Makal has as its theme the most common love triangle, where two women love one man, and ultimately one of them wins him over. The setting of the novel is a traditional Namboodiri household. The main characters are Madhu, Ittichiri and Sulochana. Madhu is the son of the family’s storekeeper. Although himself a Namboodiri, he belongs to an inferior sub-caste, and hence is a victim of social distancing. Ittichiri is the daughter of the previous head of the family, and hence she is supposed to follow the dictates to be obeyed by a young Namboodiri girl. Sulochana is the daughter of the younger brother of Ittichiri’s father. She belongs to a Nair family. As the story opens, we witness these children playing along with other siblings of Ittichiri. As the story progresses, we see Madhu, being initiated into the learning of English. He is sent to school too. All these were banned within the community, and a person who dared to do this would be excommunicated. However, Madhu is sent to school by the family with the relieving thought, that he belongs to a lower subcaste. Sulochana too is educated in school. Madhu is very diligent in his studies. With Sulochana’s financial help he is able to pursue his higher studies and become a doctor. In the meantime, Ittichiri’s marriage is fixed to a man who is around fifty, and who had married twice, earlier. Madhu who has been in love with Ittichiri, for long, wants to save her from her sad plight and he asks the help of Sulochana, who is deeply in love with Madhu. Ittichiri tries to kill herself by jumping into the river, to escape her marriage to the old man, but is saved by Sulochana. Later Sulochana poisons herself and dies after confessing her love for Madhu.
Speech Styles in Context
Apphante Makal has a language style which is representative of the time. Since language most effectively reflects the society that uses it, the language style serves as a strong communicative instrument. Generally, a literary work that deals with a specific social group carries along with it, its linguistic uniqueness too. In Apphante Makal also one comes across a speech form that has marked features which make it distinct from others. On the basis of this, one can demarcate two speech styles, which are (1) Narrative style, and (2) Conversational style. The latter can again be divided into two groups which are (i) Progressive style, and (ii) Conventional style.
1. Narrative Style
When the author who controls the progress of a novel manipulates the language in his own special style, the distinction between the author and the work becomes non-existent. Certain typically Namboodiri usages in the narration can be illustrated. (1) puja kazhiyuvaanulla tirakkil sriikovilakattu tevaariyum tevarum kuuti ketti mariyunnu (In the hurry to finish the Pooja, the deity and the deity-propitiator roll together).(2) akattu madhuvinte ammaykkum, purattu madhuvinum angoottonnum smariykkuvaan tanne paatilla (Madhu who is inside and Madhu’s mother who is outside cannot even imagine stepping there). And it is only through such merging that natural creations come into being.
Moothiringode’s style is enchantingly poetical. His prose reminds one of the works of Nalappatt Narayana Menon and Vallathol. Like the authors of his period who imitated the English novelists like Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and Jane Austen, the author has interspersed vivid descriptive accounts of landscapes and people in his novel. Here one witnesses the progressive individual who is deliberately trying to “refine” his attitudes and ideas to suit the existing social set up.
On the other hand, the critic would also not miss strains of the conventional Namboodiri speech in the author’s idiolect. Although a general attempt has been made by him to avoid using Namboodiri dialect in the novel, all throughout, one sees the Namboodiri in him, finding expression through various linguistic usages. If one has to understand the Namboodiri identity which is visible throughout the novel, he / she would have to imbibe the whole culture of the group. To put the idea in a different way, one can say that the descriptions and the narrations in the novel would be fully appreciated only when the reader is a Namboodiri. The wholeness of the author’s intent is received only by a person belonging to the same community. This progressive novel, written with the intention of social reformation caters more to the Namboodiri and not people of other castes. At this point, it should be remembered that the ultimate aim of the author was social revolution, and for that he had to speak in the language of the people whose ideas have to be changed. So Moothiringode has aptly conveyed his progressive ideas through an essentially Namboodiri speech code. This style marks the success of the work.
2. Conversational Style
When the linguistic study of a novel is attempted, the speech style employed in it becomes very important. It is from such conversations that many interesting insights on the speech form are obtained.
Analyzing the conversation in Apphante Makal one witnesses the interplay of two different speech styles which are the :
(i) Progressive Style
Sulochana in the novel represents the progressive style. Being the daughter of an apphan “fathers younger brother”, she cannot express overt kinship to her father’s family. Hence she refers to her father as acchan tampuraan “honourable father” All the other kin in the family too are referred to very formally using words like Namboodiripad and the honorific term Unnikkitaavu “young girl”. Although she follows the conventions here strictly without ever trying to cross over the social dictates, her speech style is closer to the literary variety. The literary variety of speech in this context symbolizes progressiveness. Sulochana for example says “enne sambandhichitatholam naan pravarttippaan paatillaattatu parailla.” (As far as I am concerned, I will not tell anything that cannot be done).
But the truth is not as is pictured in the novel. In Valluvanadu, where the novel is set, the Namboodiris and the Nairs who have close associations with each other use the same dialect, no matter whether any group is progressive or not. Hence the literary language as employed by Sulochana is not the actual speech style of the area. However the author has to demarcate this style as distinct from the conventional speech form of the non- progressive people as a tactic because only then can progressiveness and conventionality be effectively marked, although it may not exist for all practical purposes.
Madhu, the progressive young man has been made to speak in the progressive style even in contexts where he tenderly expresses his love for Ittichiri. The Nair character Sarojam also speaks in the literary style.
(ii) Conventional Style
In contrast, Ittichiri’s talk is typically conventional. Although she has been tutored English by Sulochana, her convention- ridden surroundings make her adopt a conventional tongue. See how she speaks to Madhu: “ssi kaalaayittu epplum niriiccu kontiriykana aale aarenkilum marakkuo?” (Will anybody forget the person, he/she has been thinking about for a long time?)The other Namboodiri characters in the novel also use the conventional speech style. Hence the use of the literary style is a symbol of formal education, which was denied to the Namboodiris then. Speech Style and Social Status In Apphante Makal upward social mobility is marked by the acquisition of the literary style, the prestigious language in this context being English. English was the language of modern education, which broadened the convention bound world of the average Malayalee. It was inaccessible to the Namboodiris who considered learning English as sin. At the same time the highly Sanskritic Malayalam of the Namboodiris had no prestige in the community, since it was associated with social rigidity. However, the same Sanskritic Malayalam, was highly prestigious for the untouchables of Kerala living during the same time, because Sanskrit was the symbol of caste purity. This enables us to arrive at the common saying that inaccessibility enhances attraction. In such instances, social status also is relative because the criteria for determining social status are different in different social contexts.
The relationship of the language style and the society in the present case reveals a kind of social stratification. People who have a positive orientation towards the community employ the conventional speech style. For instance, the Namboodiri characters in the novel, who are bound by convention belong to this group. Characters like Ittichiri who wants to get rid of the shackles but who do not have the courage to do so, also use the conventional style. So the conventional style here represents fear and rigidity also. This conventional style is changed into progressive style which is the style of education and progressiveness in characters like Madhu who are for social reformation. So one witnesses an upward social mobility with the usage of the progressive style of speech. And this social mobility demands two strata based on progressiveness, the strata being the formally educated and the conventional.
The language used in the novel Apphante Makal thus displays such sociological facts also which have been deeply embedded in the society, in addition to the linguistic facts. Apphante Makal efficiently portrays a society in which a revolution was imminent. Such truthful representations of society are capable of instilling in the readers, the spirit of social change.
Contributor
USHA NAMBUDRIPAD. Has obtained her Ph. D in Linguistics for the thesis “The Speech of Namboodiris: A Sociolinguistic Study.” Has worked in two research projects of FOSSILS (Folkore Society of South Indian Languages) on “Tribal Kinship Terms” and “Tribal Folklore” as coordinator. Was a Research Fellow in the Kerala Sahitya Akademy. She has a number of published articles to her credit and a book on Sociolinguistics. Is an active translator from English to Malayalam and vice versa. She has also translated two of Shakespeare’s plays into Malayalam.
