Sunday Oct 15, 2023
Writer Mani Krishnan is happy to have returned to writing at a time when she has given up her duties and taken a leisurely lifestyle. The novella ‘Madhavi Yum Devayaniyum’ was born from reading the Mahabharata when the letters came together again. This is how Manikara Padmanabha Pillai, the editor of the newspaper, described Mani’s first story, ‘Poo pojjhunu manam maranulli’, in the Malayalam Rajya Varika as an introduction. ‘I am not saying which story Kamadhenu’s Vatsala Nandini is this. Time will prove it. Mani Krishnan, the narrator’s name, has been cut off and given only as Mani so that the readers do not catch it so quickly. Time has proved it, even though it has been a long time coming. ‘Madhavi Yum Devayani’ is a novel published by Mani Krishnan at the age of 84, the daughter of Lalithambika Antarjanam, who needs no introduction in Malayalam literature. The character of Madhavi is a direct picture of power and male dominance making women objects of consumption. Madhavi is met during his daily reading of the Mahabharata. The story revolves around Yayati’s daughter Madhavi having to live with many men for her father’s business. Madhavi was left without the right to even see the children born to her. Ignoring her wishes, Yayati decides on her daughter’s Swayamvaram. Determined to take revenge on her father, she insists on Swayamvaram in a forest. According to his daughter’s wishes, Swayamvaram decides to get married in the forest. Realizing the fact that most of the kings who came to Swayamvaram had shared her bed many times, Madhavi threw away the varana and disappeared into the forest. The theme of the novelette is that she, who has become an ascetic, returns to see her grown-up sons and returns to the forest. Devayani is the second heroine of the Mahabharata itself. Grandma’s book cover is designed by granddaughter and illustrator Varsha Sharan. Varsha is a student of Chennai Women’s Christian College. His writing career started at the age of fifteen and continued unabated till the age of 20. The first story was full of military atmosphere as he was inspired by reading military stories by Nandanar, Kovilan etc. Although it received many letters from readers, Amma Lalithambika Antharjanam said that she wanted to ‘write about our living environment’. Then wrote many stories. The background of the stories was Ramapuram, her hometown, until she married her lover at the age of 20 and reached the Neitasheri Math inside the Thiruvananthapuram Fort. Her husband Ramaru was also a writer. Although there were incentives, writing was forgotten in later life. Daughter Tanuja Bhattathiri came to writing. Other children Manoj and Vineeta also went their separate ways. After her husband’s death, she got a lot of free time. Later it was a return to the world of letters. As I regained my reading, I became more enthusiastic about writing. A memoir ‘Ente Amma Lalithambika Antharjanam’ was published about Amma. Has published six books including story collections, studies and articles. Thinking about the next book. Read on deshabhimani.com
