''Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram'' ( en, The Life of Prathapa Mudaliar), written in 1857 and published in 1879, was the first

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

in the

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory o ...

. Penned by Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai (1826-1889), it was a

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

Tamil literature Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the Tamil literature are mainly from T ...

, which had hitherto seen writings only in

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

. The book gave birth to a new

literary genre A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from more abstract, encompassing classes, which are then further sub-divided in ...

and Tamil

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the fo ...

began to be recognized as an increasingly important part of the language. The author was the munsif (a 'Village President' with some judicial powers) of Mayuram (present day

Mayiladuthurai Mayiladuthurai (formerly known as Mayavaram or Mayuram) is a town and district headquarter of Mayiladuthurai district in Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located at a distance of from the state capital, Chennai. Mayiladuthurai was ruled by Medie ...

near

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the ...

). Influenced by Western ideas of women's liberation and

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a si ...

, he set out to publish works that projected his ideals. His first publication was ''Pen Kalvi'' ("Female Education"), which he addressed to his daughters. After witnessing the explosion of novels in Western literature, he set out to publish his groundbreaking novel that would showcase the heroine of the novel as an equal of the

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

, if not more savvy and righteous. The story revolves around the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

, Prathapa

Mudaliar Mudaliar (alternatively spelled: Muthaliar, Mudali, Muthali, or Moodley ) is a Tamil title and surname. As title, it was historically given to high-ranking military officers and their descendants. The surname is most prevalent among Tamils from Tami ...

and his travails.

Plot introduction

The story is a loose collection of events and narratives centered on a naive but good-natured hero and his life and adventures. It begins in a typical forward

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultur ...

family setting, with the young Prathapa Mudhaliar, from Tuluva Vellala Mudaliar family of Arcot indulging in

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

and enjoying himself. The plot also introduces the heroine as a rather intelligent and morally upright girl who marries the hero through a myriad of events.

Plot summary

The novel is narrated in first person. Soon they are separated and the wife is found wandering in the forest. In order to safeguard herself, she dresses up as a man and roams through the jungle. Meanwhile, a nearby kingdom loses its heir to the throne and as per custom, requires that a new king be chosen at random by the royal

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...

. The elephant wanders into the forest and decides to put the flower

garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. Etymology From the ...

on the unsuspecting young lady. Soon, she is proclaimed the chief of the region and carried to the royal palace. The hero, meanwhile, is despondent after losing his wife and goes in search of her. En route to a city, the hero's sandals get torn, and he decides to repair them using the services of a cobbler. He promises the cobbler that if he stitches the footwear properly and the hero is satisfied, he will reward him with happiness. In a few minutes Prathapa's sandals are mended to his satisfaction and he in turn gives the cobbler one

rupee Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, ...

(a princely amount in the era in which the novel is set). The cobbler, however, says he is not satisfied with the rupee and demands his "happiness", since that was the promise of Prathap. Perplexed at this sudden turn of events, a crowd soon gathers and no one is able to resolve the issue. Soon, the matter reaches the court of the new "King," who recognizes her husband despite his dishevelled and bewildered face. Prathap, however is unable to recognize the disguise of his wife and addresses her as the King. She decides to settle this dispute by asking the cobbler if he was happy to see the kingdom's new king. He responds positively, to which she replies that since this quarrel with the young man resulted in his visit to the new king, which ultimately made the cobbler happy, he should go back to his duties, since "happiness" was provided. The cobbler, finding that he has no other way of needlessly harassing the young hero, returns. The "King" soon reveals herself to her husband in private quarters and, after entrusting the kingdom to a young apprentice in the court, leaves the kingdom. Both return to their house and live happily ever after.

Characters

*Prathapa Mudhaliar - protagonist of the novel *Gnanambal - Prathap's wife

Literary significance and criticism

The idea of a novel in Tamil language was an instant hit. Though the level of literacy was still abysmal in late 19th century

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, sales of the book were still higher than expected. The novelty and success of this novel prompted many other writers to produce more such works. The novel was followed by ''Kamalambal Charitram'' by B. R. Rajam Iyer in 1893 and ''Padmavathi Charitram'' by A. Madhaviah in 1898, and set the trend for Tamil books.

Translations

The book was translated in various other languages including Dravidian languages and in English. The English translation was done by Meenakshi Tyagarajan in 2005. This also convinced many other writers in other Indian languages to write more prose-oriented books. ''Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram'' is still translated and published, with ''

Amar Chitra Katha Amar Chitra Katha (ACK Comics) is an Indian publisher of Indian comics and graphic novels. Most of its comics are based on religious legends and epics, historical figures and biographies, folktales and cultural stories. The company was founded ...

'' even creating a comic book adaptation of this novel.

References

External links

* {{Google books, id=WuO24gKgWroC 1879 novels Tamil novels Novels set in Tamil Nadu 19th-century Indian novels Indian historical novels in Tamil Novels adapted into comics