Indulekha

Infobox Book |
name = Indulekha


image_caption =
author = O Chandu Menon
country = India
language = Malayalam
cover_artist =
country = India
language = Malayalam
series =
genre = Novel
publisher =
release_date = 1889
media_type =
pages =
isbn = NA

"Indulekha" (Malayalam:ഇന്ദുലേഖ), a novel by O Chandu Menon. This work initiated the novel genre in Malayalam and is therefore considered to be a landmark in the history of Malayalam literature although it is credited as the second malayalam novel (first being Kundalatha published in 1888). Indulekha, Chandumenon's first novel, was published in 1889. It was followed by his second and unfinished work, Sarada. The novel exposes the strange cultural practices, like sambandham and marumakkatayam, that prevailed among Nairs.

Title

Indulekha, refers to the main character in the novel, a beautiful, well educated lady in her twenties.

Plot summary

Indulekha is a young and educated, knowledgeable young woman, who is in love with another young man, Madhavan. The story details how the matrilineal society of those times, encourages an old foolish Namboothiri to start a relationship with Indulekha. Indulekha promptly snubs the old man, but Madhavan in haste runs away from the household, to Bengal. There he makes a lot of good friends. In the end, he arrives back and is united with Indulekha. They then leave to Madras, present day Chennai.

Namboothiri represents the decadence of feudalism, its caste oppression and polygamy. Indulekha, the novel's educated heroine, dramatises the resistance of a progressive woman. She refuses to succumb to the oppression of the Namboothiri and marries Madhavan, who stands up to the social evils of the period.

Characters

* Indulekha
* Madhavan
* The Namboothiri
* Indulekha's Mother Lakshmiamma
* Panju Menon
* Kannazhi Moorkkillatha Manayckal Soori Namboothirippadu

External links

* [http://www.mtvasudevannair.com/php/showNews.php?newsid=34&linkid=2 Novel and Short Story to the Present Day - by M T Vasudevan Nair]
* [http://www.hindu.com/br/2004/09/07/stories/2004090700011403.htm Voice of Rebellion - a review by K. Kunhikrishnan]
* [http://srijithunni.blogspot.com/2006/03/indulekha-lives-reminisces.html A Book Review of Indulekha]