T Padmanabhan’s "Kadal"
Posted by Angelina:
Mon Jun 23, 2003
This is a small write up on Shri T Padmanabhan’s short story "Kadal". Kadal is considered as a classic in Malayalam. Unlike his most other stories, in Kadal the narrator is not "Ayyal" but a young lady and Kadal is the story of her mother.
The story starts when her father called her back to home from hostel in order to be with her dying mother. She knew that her father’s relationship with mother is not so good. She knew that her mother is keeping some distance from father for reasons unknown to her.
While she is with her mother, mother allows her to go through her diary and she slowly understands the problem. The diary opened a New World, which was totally unknown to her till that time. The sentences are very small some times and sometimes they are very long, long enough to wonder whether there is no end to it. There are references about poetry, music & love in the diary. Words from the poems she liked the most, First lines of music, which she never forgot sing and extra ordinary and poetic thoughts about love. And also about Sea, again and again about Sea. The desire to became part of Sea, to become a wave in the Sea, to fly over the Sea like butterflies and sleep in the calmness of Sea.
There are references about her life in Banaras, the places there, the music classes, her teachers and friends. She was not so much interested in marriage instead she wanted to continue her studies. She wrote very little about her husband in the beginning, but whatever she wrote is full of love. There are jokes about her husband’s ignorance of music.
But towards the end, the words are like lightning, one after the other. One day she wrote: "I never expected this from him. That too without my knowledge… open the shelves and read my papers. I never expected this from the man whom I trusted the most and loved so much. I could have given him everything if he wanted. But without my knowledge…
After some days mother wrote: "Yesterday I requested my husband to return my letters. But he acted as if he was ignorant of what had happened? Why is he like this? I fear our relationship is going to break. I am really sad. But what can I do?
Suddenly one day my husband asked me, " Who is he in your life? The one who never forgets to write to you whenever you come for vacation? Apart from a teacher, what is he to you? I can’t understand. Then why did you marry me?" You are living like husband and wife in Banaras and…
I was shocked. How can I convince him? Finally I told: " We are not husband and wife in Banaras. He is my teacher and I am his student. You may not understand the relationship between the teacher whom the student respect the most and the student whom the teacher most proud of. But I don’t know how to convince you. Anyway I decided not to return to Banaras. After a while husband asked me, "Is it better to complete the studies. Otherwise what will people think?" I was really shocked again. Why is he so much worried about people? Is he acting as my husband just for other peoples sake?
This story is not ending here. But I like to stop here and request all malayalamlovers to read the story whenever you get free time.
Regards
Eleena
Mon Jun 23, 2003
This is a small write up on Shri T Padmanabhan’s short story "Kadal". Kadal is considered as a classic in Malayalam. Unlike his most other stories, in Kadal the narrator is not "Ayyal" but a young lady and Kadal is the story of her mother.
The story starts when her father called her back to home from hostel in order to be with her dying mother. She knew that her father’s relationship with mother is not so good. She knew that her mother is keeping some distance from father for reasons unknown to her.
While she is with her mother, mother allows her to go through her diary and she slowly understands the problem. The diary opened a New World, which was totally unknown to her till that time. The sentences are very small some times and sometimes they are very long, long enough to wonder whether there is no end to it. There are references about poetry, music & love in the diary. Words from the poems she liked the most, First lines of music, which she never forgot sing and extra ordinary and poetic thoughts about love. And also about Sea, again and again about Sea. The desire to became part of Sea, to become a wave in the Sea, to fly over the Sea like butterflies and sleep in the calmness of Sea.
There are references about her life in Banaras, the places there, the music classes, her teachers and friends. She was not so much interested in marriage instead she wanted to continue her studies. She wrote very little about her husband in the beginning, but whatever she wrote is full of love. There are jokes about her husband’s ignorance of music.
But towards the end, the words are like lightning, one after the other. One day she wrote: "I never expected this from him. That too without my knowledge… open the shelves and read my papers. I never expected this from the man whom I trusted the most and loved so much. I could have given him everything if he wanted. But without my knowledge…
After some days mother wrote: "Yesterday I requested my husband to return my letters. But he acted as if he was ignorant of what had happened? Why is he like this? I fear our relationship is going to break. I am really sad. But what can I do?
Suddenly one day my husband asked me, " Who is he in your life? The one who never forgets to write to you whenever you come for vacation? Apart from a teacher, what is he to you? I can’t understand. Then why did you marry me?" You are living like husband and wife in Banaras and…
I was shocked. How can I convince him? Finally I told: " We are not husband and wife in Banaras. He is my teacher and I am his student. You may not understand the relationship between the teacher whom the student respect the most and the student whom the teacher most proud of. But I don’t know how to convince you. Anyway I decided not to return to Banaras. After a while husband asked me, "Is it better to complete the studies. Otherwise what will people think?" I was really shocked again. Why is he so much worried about people? Is he acting as my husband just for other peoples sake?
This story is not ending here. But I like to stop here and request all malayalamlovers to read the story whenever you get free time.
Regards
Eleena
posted by malayalamlovers at 3:09 AM
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