"Tejo-Tungabhadra" is the novel written by the author

Vasudhendra Vasudhendra is an Indian author in Kannada language known for his short stories and personal essays. Personal life Vasudhendra was born at Sandur in the Bellary district of Karnataka. He graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree from th ...

. Tejo-Tungabhadra novel is a social novel that chronicles the history of

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...

, Portuguese,

Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Kingdom or the Bahmani Sultanate was a late medieval Persianate kingdom that ruled the Deccan plateau in India. The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom came to power in 1347 during the rebellio ...

and the lifestyle of that period. It is a work that depicts the general and the constitutional work of the 15th-16th century. Vasudehendra's Tejo-Tungabhadra Novel has been awarded the Karnataka Sahithya Akademi Award in 2019.

Illustration of the book

The first printing of the

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

Tejo-Tungabhadra was published by Chanda Book publishing house. The fist print of this 464-page novel is priced at

₹ The Indian rupee sign ⟨₹⟩ is the currency symbol for the Indian rupee (ISO 4217: INR), the official currency of India. Designed by D. Udaya Kumar, it was presented to the public by the Government of India on 15 July 2010, following its ...

380 in India. The Front page of the book is designed by Soumya Kalyankar. NS Mapplitho 70 GSM Paper is used for 1/8 Demi Measurement of this book for publishing the novel.

The plot

The plot of the novel is based on studies of the social life of

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Vijayanagar The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belonging to the ...

and

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

in the 15th - 16th century. The story is about Gabriel, raised on the banks of the Tigris or Tejo River in Portugal, travels to India and comes across the people on the banks of

Tungabhadra River The Tungabhadra River () starts and flows through the state of Karnataka, India, for most of its course, then through Andhra Pradesh where it ultimately joins the Krishna River near Murvakonda. The Tungabhadra derives its name from two strea ...

. The story of the novel begins from about 1492

A.D The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used when designating years in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord" but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", tak ...

and continues till the 1518

. Historical figures such as

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate (), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as monarch. Manu ...

, King of Portugal, Queen Isabella of Spain,

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

Alfonso de Albuquerque Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa ( – 16 December 1515), was a Portuguese general, admiral, statesman and Conquistador, ''conquistador''. He served as List of governors of Portuguese India, viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, d ...

Krishnadevaraya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 to 1529 and the third ruler of the Tuluva dynasty. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rulers in Indian history, he presided over t ...

and

Purandara Dasa Purandara Dasa (IAST: Purandara Dāsa; (1470 – 1564) was a composer, singer and a Haridasa philosopher from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a follower of Madhwacharya, Madhvacharya's Dwaitha, Dvaita philosophy. He was one of the chi ...

are the characters of the Novel. Along with all of these characters, some fictional characters currently make up the novel. Historical events include the discovery of the sea route to India by Vasco da Gama,

Baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

of the

Jewish community Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

expelled from Spain who took refuge in Portugal, The novel takes place in the wake of forced Baptism, the

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

of the Jewish and Christians, victory of Krishnadevaraya on Kalinga kingdom and many other events. The story opens with the love story of

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

boy Gabriel and the

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

girl Bella in Lisbon, on the banks of the Tejo River. At the time, western countries had a special demand for the spices of Eastern India. Portugal has been at the forefront of inventing the sea route to India to meet this demand and is quite wealthy in this business. The youth of Lisbon were getting rich by working as sailors when they returned with such merchants. Gabriel would also join a ship as a sailor for the purpose of making money. Gabriel promises Bella that he will earn some money and return and marry her. The story on one side takes place on the banks of the Tejo River and on other side the story of Mapala Nayaka, Thembakka, Hampamma and Keshava takes place in Tembakapura, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in the Vijayanagara Empire of India.It thus proceeds in parallel by delineating events in separate geographical areas. Gabriel inevitably came to India and is converted to Islam and has to lead a life as Ahmed Akanna. The novel combines ideas with a number of historical events. In addition to the political transitions of the time, social conditions, cultural practices along with religious practices such as Sati, Lenka have been used to supplement the story.

Awards and recognition

''Tejo-Tungabhadra'' novel won the Karnataka Sahithya Academy Award for the Best Novel in 2019. The Novel also won the Chadga Novel Award in 2020. The seventh edition of the novel was published in 2020.

References

{{reflist

External links

Lisbon, Goa, Vijayanagara: Tejo Tungabhadra , Vasudhendra in Conversation with Edith Melo Furtado
Novels in Kannada Kannada literature Goa in fiction