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ഇല്ലായ്മകളും വല്ലായ്മകളും മാത്രം നിറഞ്ഞ കുറെ ശപ്തജീവിതങ്ങൾ. പകലന്തിയോളം എല്ലുനുറുങ്ങെ പണിയെടുത്താലും പട്ടിണി മാറാത്ത ഒരു വർഗ്ഗം. തൊഴിലാളിവർഗ്ഗം. ചെല്ലപ്പനും ഭവാനിയും ഗോപാലനുമെല്ലാം ആ വർഗ്ഗത്തിന്റെ പ്രതിനിധികളാണ്. ദുരന്തങ്ങളുടെ കൊടുങ്കാറ്റ് അവരുടെയൊക്കെ ജീവിതത്തിനുമേൽ വീശിയടിച്ച് സർവ്വതും തകർത്തു. കേരളത്തിലെ അടിസ്ഥാനവർഗ്ഗമായ തൊഴിലാളികളുടെ ജീവിതത്തിലേക്കുള്ള ഒരു എത്തിനോട്ടമാണ് ഈ സുന്ദരമായ നോവൽ. ഒരുപക്ഷേ, തൊഴിലാളിയെ സംഘടിക്കാനും അവകാശങ്ങള്‍ പിടിച്ചുപറ്റാനും പ്രേരിപ്പിച്ച ഒരു വേദപുസ്തകം! തകഴിയുടെ ശക്തമായ കൃതി.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
8 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
തകഴി |Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
50 books146 followersThakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (Malayalam: തകഴി ശിവശങ്കര പിള്ള) (17 April 1912 - 10 April 1999) was a novelist and short story writer of Malayalam language. He is popularly known as Thakazhi, after his place of birth. He focused on the oppressed classes as the subject of his works, which are known for their attention to historic detail. He has written several novels and over 600 short stories. His most famous works are Kayar (Coir, 1978) and Chemmeen (Prawns, 1956; film adaptation, 1965). He was awarded India's highest literary award, the Jnanpith in 1984.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 6, 2022
Rating 4 out of 5 | Grade: A
Premise:
Like most of thakazhi’s works, this book is set during the post-independence era. It details the day-to-day grind of the farmers, manual laborers and other blue-collar workers in Kerala. At a time when the nation had barely gained independence, when there was a gross inequality in wealth, when few influential landlords had control of all the arable land, industries and lucrative businesses, most lived just one of two steps above poverty.
Your average worker had to perform 12-hour days of back breaking work, just to earn enough for food and boarding. Thye owned no lands, had no knowledge of their rights, were cavalier with their limited assets, and hence were ripe for exploitation by the ruling bosses. Being from weaker sections of society, as well as illiterate, they were incapable of even understanding if they were being underpaid or exploited. This state continued for a while now.
Enter the Communist Party of India. If you look at the political landscape of India today, the Communists have only a minor foothold in the nation. Out of the 3 states they have a significant presence Kerala, the state in which the story takes place, and West Bengal (to the east) are the most prominent.
Without getting into the details, there is a reason that the ideology has maintained roots in these places, even when they went extinct in the rest of the nation.
At the time where this story takes place, the Indian National Congress, the only other major political force in the state, was seen as a party for the elite, upper caste sections of society. It was understandable why the public perceived it as such, with its leaders almost always being those highly educated, opulent influential people in the society.
Naturally, the party had a reputation of being filled with the very same Bourgeoisie, who fed and funded the organization to cater to their interests.
Enter the communists, who in contrast, went down to the grassroots of society, the workers and farmers who were the backbone of the economy. Over the course of the next couple of decades, they managed to unionize the workers, and create a strong political base for themselves amongst the most numerous sections of the population.
This, to a large extent, allowed their wages, work and living conditions to improve. The downtrodden sections of the society had finally someone to speak on their behalf, and to demand the deserved rights.
In the contemporary political spectrum, modern iteration of the Communist party, has proven itself to be just as incompetent and corrupt as the rest of them. But the legacy that stalwarts had created before, still helps to garner support for them, in a state which is becoming more and more anti-capitalist, and suffering for it.
But forgive me for boring you with meandering exposition, when I should be focusing on the story
Synopsis:
The novel details the life of three individuals, manual laborers lying in the lowest rungs of society. The unhappy couple, Chellapan & Bhavani, who are in constant conflict due to the husband’s suspicious nature, and Bhavani’s headstrong personality which is like putting oil and fire next to one another. Involved in this conflict is Chellapan’s friend Gopalan, who has romantic intentions for the married women, but cannot act upon them.
When the headstrong bullish Chellapan threatens one of the Landlords, he is being hunted by the Police and has to go into hiding, leaving Bhavani and the children to fend for themselves. It is in this situation that Gopalan steps up to help the family, and as Chellapan’s absence extends to months, the two fall in love and decide to start a family of them.
But much like Raskolnikov after committing his heinous crime, both of them are constantly plagued by fears of what may happen in the future. Particularly the return of Chellapan, who might just murder them both for this transgression. In addition, Gopalan is constantly in a state of fitful anxiety. From his perspective, he had taken another man’s wife, children and home. Self-Loathing and guilt grips him, seeing himself as a villain who ruined a family. This, in addition to the encroaching fear of the unknown, causes to him chronic insomnia and terror, as he slowly wastes away. He had love and family, but his conscience denied him the state of mind to properly appreciate them.
Elsewhere, Chellapan who had gone in hiding incognito, found himself in the hospitality of the kind family, who spared no expense in taking care of him, and treated him as a member of their own family. In particular, the youngest daughter of the house, in time, shows a passionate interest in him. Chellappan had grown up an orphan and had spent much of his life like a beast of work. He had spent the entire days working in gusto in the fields, and then spending much of what he earned in booze and arak. Even his wife and children were a point of sore contention whenever they came to his mind. Only his political work, campaigns and agitation organized for the fellow workers, where he was always on the forefront, gave him any sense of purpose.
Now, in this home of strangers, he began to feel like he was reliving his childhood with love and affection. Not privy of what was happening back home, he too begins to feel some conflicting emotions. But, given a chance to, for the first time in life, grasp at genuine happiness, he too resolves to let his old identity die and make the lie and reality.
That would’ve been the end of it, were it not for events placing Chellappan at a crossroads. One road, leading to happiness, where his hunger for love, relationship and a family will be satiated. But that would also mean he’d be content, start a new family, children, and look after their needs for the rest of his life.
Other was the road less traveled. One where his future or safety would be uncertain, where he would continue with his service for the benefit of workers everywhere. One which would most likely land him in prison, or worse.
Like a stoic unaffected by the riches surrounding him, Chellapan decides to discard his mortal relations, good and bad, and walk towards the unknown, wherever his belief and ideology might land him. That road was one of revolution and martyrdom.
Thoughts
Thakazhi ShivaSankara Pilla, or Thakazhi as he is known widely, is one of the stalwarts of Modern Malayalam literature, who, along contemporaries such as M.T. Vasudevan Nair, were indomitable writers who were able to carve out soul stirring narratives which cut to the very deep of the lowest strings of society, the powerless, the exploited, the forgotten.
Thakazhi, whose bibliography is filled with works which showcase the life, struggles and inner thoughts of these people, is often able to use the working-class societies in and surrounding his native Alappuzha and Kuttanad. He is able to imbue these characters with a storied conflicting life, and through them force us to look at those whom society chooses to ignore and make invisible.
Whether in this story, or his other popular and equally moving works such as Thottiyude Makan തോട്ടിയുടെ മകന്‍ (English: Scavenger's Son) or രണ്ടിടങ്ങഴി Randidangazhi (English: Two Measures) he is proficient in laying bare the lives of those who struggle in the lowest strings of society, with poverty and discrimination.
His prose demonstrates a masterful command of the language, dialect and slang characteristic of the section of society which his characters represent. Although perhaps not to the level of M.T. Vasudevan Nair, they provide a certain nuance to the narrative, one which can only be fully appreciated by speakers native to Malayalam.
Although in Thakazhi’s strength, is an extremely accessible and understandable structure and verse, which although intermingled with the local dialects make sure you are never lost as to what is happening in the narrative.
One thing which I’ve noticed for most of Thakazhi’s works is how the concluding part of his narrative tends to meander towards the more philosophical or ideological, at the expense of the story. They almost always end in death, often with a tragic heroic figure. And their deaths would be colored by some political evils, such as class struggle, discrimination or exploitation of the weaker sections of the populace.
I have not read his works as English translations, because I believe their true essence can only be enjoyed in the native language. For those who are proficient in Malayalam, I would recommend they peruse through his bibliography. Even for those who depend on English translations, I would urge you to give it a shot. As Thakazhi is one of the writers who defined the cultural zeitgeist on a generation throughout the 20th and even 21st century.
Premise:
Like most of thakazhi’s works, this book is set during the post-independence era. It details the day-to-day grind of the farmers, manual laborers and other blue-collar workers in Kerala. At a time when the nation had barely gained independence, when there was a gross inequality in wealth, when few influential landlords had control of all the arable land, industries and lucrative businesses, most lived just one of two steps above poverty.
Your average worker had to perform 12-hour days of back breaking work, just to earn enough for food and boarding. Thye owned no lands, had no knowledge of their rights, were cavalier with their limited assets, and hence were ripe for exploitation by the ruling bosses. Being from weaker sections of society, as well as illiterate, they were incapable of even understanding if they were being underpaid or exploited. This state continued for a while now.
Enter the Communist Party of India. If you look at the political landscape of India today, the Communists have only a minor foothold in the nation. Out of the 3 states they have a significant presence Kerala, the state in which the story takes place, and West Bengal (to the east) are the most prominent.
Without getting into the details, there is a reason that the ideology has maintained roots in these places, even when they went extinct in the rest of the nation.
At the time where this story takes place, the Indian National Congress, the only other major political force in the state, was seen as a party for the elite, upper caste sections of society. It was understandable why the public perceived it as such, with its leaders almost always being those highly educated, opulent influential people in the society.
Naturally, the party had a reputation of being filled with the very same Bourgeoisie, who fed and funded the organization to cater to their interests.
Enter the communists, who in contrast, went down to the grassroots of society, the workers and farmers who were the backbone of the economy. Over the course of the next couple of decades, they managed to unionize the workers, and create a strong political base for themselves amongst the most numerous sections of the population.
This, to a large extent, allowed their wages, work and living conditions to improve. The downtrodden sections of the society had finally someone to speak on their behalf, and to demand the deserved rights.
In the contemporary political spectrum, modern iteration of the Communist party, has proven itself to be just as incompetent and corrupt as the rest of them. But the legacy that stalwarts had created before, still helps to garner support for them, in a state which is becoming more and more anti-capitalist, and suffering for it.
But forgive me for boring you with meandering exposition, when I should be focusing on the story
Synopsis:
The novel details the life of three individuals, manual laborers lying in the lowest rungs of society. The unhappy couple, Chellapan & Bhavani, who are in constant conflict due to the husband’s suspicious nature, and Bhavani’s headstrong personality which is like putting oil and fire next to one another. Involved in this conflict is Chellapan’s friend Gopalan, who has romantic intentions for the married women, but cannot act upon them.
When the headstrong bullish Chellapan threatens one of the Landlords, he is being hunted by the Police and has to go into hiding, leaving Bhavani and the children to fend for themselves. It is in this situation that Gopalan steps up to help the family, and as Chellapan’s absence extends to months, the two fall in love and decide to start a family of them.
But much like Raskolnikov after committing his heinous crime, both of them are constantly plagued by fears of what may happen in the future. Particularly the return of Chellapan, who might just murder them both for this transgression. In addition, Gopalan is constantly in a state of fitful anxiety. From his perspective, he had taken another man’s wife, children and home. Self-Loathing and guilt grips him, seeing himself as a villain who ruined a family. This, in addition to the encroaching fear of the unknown, causes to him chronic insomnia and terror, as he slowly wastes away. He had love and family, but his conscience denied him the state of mind to properly appreciate them.
Elsewhere, Chellapan who had gone in hiding incognito, found himself in the hospitality of the kind family, who spared no expense in taking care of him, and treated him as a member of their own family. In particular, the youngest daughter of the house, in time, shows a passionate interest in him. Chellappan had grown up an orphan and had spent much of his life like a beast of work. He had spent the entire days working in gusto in the fields, and then spending much of what he earned in booze and arak. Even his wife and children were a point of sore contention whenever they came to his mind. Only his political work, campaigns and agitation organized for the fellow workers, where he was always on the forefront, gave him any sense of purpose.
Now, in this home of strangers, he began to feel like he was reliving his childhood with love and affection. Not privy of what was happening back home, he too begins to feel some conflicting emotions. But, given a chance to, for the first time in life, grasp at genuine happiness, he too resolves to let his old identity die and make the lie and reality.
That would’ve been the end of it, were it not for events placing Chellappan at a crossroads. One road, leading to happiness, where his hunger for love, relationship and a family will be satiated. But that would also mean he’d be content, start a new family, children, and look after their needs for the rest of his life.
Other was the road less traveled. One where his future or safety would be uncertain, where he would continue with his service for the benefit of workers everywhere. One which would most likely land him in prison, or worse.
Like a stoic unaffected by the riches surrounding him, Chellapan decides to discard his mortal relations, good and bad, and walk towards the unknown, wherever his belief and ideology might land him. That road was one of revolution and martyrdom.
Thoughts
Thakazhi ShivaSankara Pilla, or Thakazhi as he is known widely, is one of the stalwarts of Modern Malayalam literature, who, along contemporaries such as M.T. Vasudevan Nair, were indomitable writers who were able to carve out soul stirring narratives which cut to the very deep of the lowest strings of society, the powerless, the exploited, the forgotten.
Thakazhi, whose bibliography is filled with works which showcase the life, struggles and inner thoughts of these people, is often able to use the working-class societies in and surrounding his native Alappuzha and Kuttanad. He is able to imbue these characters with a storied conflicting life, and through them force us to look at those whom society chooses to ignore and make invisible.
Whether in this story, or his other popular and equally moving works such as Thottiyude Makan തോട്ടിയുടെ മകന്‍ (English: Scavenger's Son) or രണ്ടിടങ്ങഴി Randidangazhi (English: Two Measures) he is proficient in laying bare the lives of those who struggle in the lowest strings of society, with poverty and discrimination.
His prose demonstrates a masterful command of the language, dialect and slang characteristic of the section of society which his characters represent. Although perhaps not to the level of M.T. Vasudevan Nair, they provide a certain nuance to the narrative, one which can only be fully appreciated by speakers native to Malayalam.
Although in Thakazhi’s strength, is an extremely accessible and understandable structure and verse, which although intermingled with the local dialects make sure you are never lost as to what is happening in the narrative.
One thing which I’ve noticed for most of Thakazhi’s works is how the concluding part of his narrative tends to meander towards the more philosophical or ideological, at the expense of the story. They almost always end in death, often with a tragic heroic figure. And their deaths would be colored by some political evils, such as class struggle, discrimination or exploitation of the weaker sections of the populace.
I have not read his works as English translations, because I believe their true essence can only be enjoyed in the native language. For those who are proficient in Malayalam, I would recommend they peruse through his bibliography. Even for those who depend on English translations, I would urge you to give it a shot. As Thakazhi is one of the writers who defined the cultural zeitgeist on a generation throughout the 20th and even 21st century.
November 29, 2021
One more to the Thakazhi binge-reading set off by 'Kayar'. All the familiar Thakazhi elements are present - the agrarian setting, the unrest of the toiling classes, the emerging, and at times faltering, unionisation, the conflicts within the families and in relationships. Yet, would call it the least satisfying of Thakazhi reads for me, which does not mean that it is a bad work at all. The comparison is with the other, much more brilliant works from him.
September 5, 2021
ഇല്ലായ്മകളും വല്ലായ്മകളും മാത്രം നിറഞ്ഞ കുറെ ജീവിതങ്ങള്‍. പകലന്തിയോളം എല്ലുനുറുങ്ങെ പണിയെടുത്താലും പട്ടിണി മാറാത്ത ഒരു വര്‍ഗ്ഗം. തൊഴിലാളിവര്‍ഗ്ഗം. ചെല്ലപ്പനും ഭവാനിയും ഗോപാലനുമെല്ലാം ആ വര്‍ഗ്ഗത്തിന്റെ പ്രതിനിധികളാണ്. ദുരന്തങ്ങളുടെ കൊടുങ്കാറ്റ് അവരുടെയൊക്കെ ജീവിതത്തിനുമേല്‍ വീശിയടിച്ച് സര്‍വ്വതും തകര്‍ത്തു. കേരളത്തിലെ അടിസ്ഥാനവര്‍ഗ്ഗമായ തൊഴിലാളികളുടെ ജീവിതത്തിലേക്കുള്ള ഒരു എത്തിനോട്ടമാണ് ഈ നോവല്‍. ഒരുപക്ഷേ, തൊഴിലാളിയെ സംഘടിക്കാനും അവകാശങ്ങള്‍ പിടിച്ചുപറ്റാനും പ്രേരിപ്പിച്ച ഒരു പുസ്തകം.
കാലത്തിനനുസരിച്ച് മാറി വരുന്ന സമരമുറകളും പലതായി വിഭജിക്കപ്പെടുന്ന കർഷക തൊഴിലാളി യൂണിയനുകളും തിരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പ് കാലത്ത് പ്രചാരണങ്ങളും ഇതിൽ നന്നായി അടയാളപ്പെടുത്തിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. പൈസയും ഭീഷണികളും വോട്ടായി മാറുന്നത് ഇതിൽ കാണാം. എത്ര കൊള്ളരുതാത്തവനും മരണശേഷം വാഴ്ത്തുന്നപ്പെടുന്നത് പണ്ട് കാലം മുതലേ ഉള്ളതാണെന്ന് ഇത് വായിക്കുമ്പോൾ മനസ്സിലാകും. ചെല്ലപ്പൻ ആണ് കഥാനായകൻ. യൂണിയൻ പ്രവർത്തനത്തിന് കുടുംബം ഒരു ബാധ്യത ആയപ്പോൾ എല്ലാം ഉപേക്ഷിച്ചിട്ട് ജീവിതം അതിനുവേണ്ടി ഉഴിഞ്ഞു വെക്കുന്നു. അതോടുകൂടി ഭാര്യയായ ഭവാനി ഗോപാലന്റെ ഒപ്പം കഴിയുന്നു. ഈയൊരു കഥാബിന്ദുവിലൂടെ ഒരു സമൂഹത്തിന്റെ ജീവിതമാണ് കഥാകൃത്ത് തുറന്നുകാട്ടുന്നത്.
കാലത്തിനനുസരിച്ച് മാറി വരുന്ന സമരമുറകളും പലതായി വിഭജിക്കപ്പെടുന്ന കർഷക തൊഴിലാളി യൂണിയനുകളും തിരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പ് കാലത്ത് പ്രചാരണങ്ങളും ഇതിൽ നന്നായി അടയാളപ്പെടുത്തിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. പൈസയും ഭീഷണികളും വോട്ടായി മാറുന്നത് ഇതിൽ കാണാം. എത്ര കൊള്ളരുതാത്തവനും മരണശേഷം വാഴ്ത്തുന്നപ്പെടുന്നത് പണ്ട് കാലം മുതലേ ഉള്ളതാണെന്ന് ഇത് വായിക്കുമ്പോൾ മനസ്സിലാകും. ചെല്ലപ്പൻ ആണ് കഥാനായകൻ. യൂണിയൻ പ്രവർത്തനത്തിന് കുടുംബം ഒരു ബാധ്യത ആയപ്പോൾ എല്ലാം ഉപേക്ഷിച്ചിട്ട് ജീവിതം അതിനുവേണ്ടി ഉഴിഞ്ഞു വെക്കുന്നു. അതോടുകൂടി ഭാര്യയായ ഭവാനി ഗോപാലന്റെ ഒപ്പം കഴിയുന്നു. ഈയൊരു കഥാബിന്ദുവിലൂടെ ഒരു സമൂഹത്തിന്റെ ജീവിതമാണ് കഥാകൃത്ത് തുറന്നുകാട്ടുന്നത്.
June 30, 2023
ഒരു ക്ലാസിക് എഴുത്തുകാരന്റെ കൃതികളെ കുറിച്ചുള്ള നമ്മുടെ അഭിപ്രായം രൂപപെടുന്നതിൽ വലിയ പങ്കു നിർവഹിക്കുന്നത് അവയെ നമ്മൾ വായിക്കുന്ന ഓർഡറാണ്. ഏണിപ്പടികൾ കഴിഞ്ഞു ഞാൻ വായിക്കുന്നത് അനുഭവങ്ങൾ പാളിച്ചകളാണ്. സിനിമ കണ്ടിട്ടില്ല. അംബീഷിയസും, സങ്കീർണതകൾ നിറഞ്ഞ കഥാപശ്ചാത്തലമുള്ള ഏണിപ്പടികളിനെലും എന്നെ സ്പർശിച്ചത്, ഇമോഷണലും, സിംപിൾ character-arc ഉള്ള അനുഭവങ്ങൾ പാളിച്ചകളാണ്.
ചെല്ലപ്പൻ യൂണിയൻ അനുഭാവിയാണ്. അയാൾക്കു തന്റെ ഭാര്യ ഭവാനിയെ സംശയമാണ്. അവരുടെ രണ്ടു മക്കൾ, കുട്ടനും, അനിയത്തി കുമാരിയുമാണ്. ഒരു മുതലാളിയെ വിരട്ടിയതിന്റെ പേരിൽ, ചെല്ലപ്പന് ഒളിവിൽ കഴിയേണ്ടി വന്നു. ഭാവനയ്ക്ക് അതൊരു നി���ിത്തമാകുന്നു, ഗോപാലന്റെ കൂടെ അവൾ പൊറുക്കുന്നു. എന്നാൽ ഗോപാലൻ സദാ വ്യാകുലനാണ്, ചെല്ലപ്പനെങ്ങാൻ ഇതറിഞ്ഞാൽ എന്താകും സ്ഥിതി എന്നോർക്കുമ്പോൾ തന്നെ അയാൾക്ക് ഭയമാണ്.
ചെല്ലപ്പൻ ആണേൽ മറ്റൊരു പേരിൽ കൊച്ചിട്ടിയുടെ വീട്ടിൽ താമസിക്കുന്നു. അവിടെ പർവ്വതിക്കും വീട്ടുകാർക്കും അയാളെ ഇഷ്ടമാകുന്നു, അവർ തമ്മിൽ കല്യാണം നടത്താൻ പദ്ധതിയിടുന്നു. പക്ഷെ ചെല്ലപ്പൻ അവിടുന്ന് മുങ്ങുന്നു. ഒരു സമരത്തിൽ, മുതലാളിയുടെ ഗുണ്ടകളെ തള്ളിയതിന് ജയിലിൽ പോകുന്നു, അവിടുന്ന് പുറത്തിറങ്ങുമ്പോൾ ചെല്ലപ്പൻ വേറൊരാളായി മാറി കഴിഞ്ഞിരുന്നു.
രണ്ടു നോവലുകളിലും ഞാൻ ശ്രദ്ധിച്ച ഒരു പാറ്റേൺ - തകഴി കോൺഫ്ലിക്റ്റുകൾ സൃഷ്ടിക്കുമെങ്കിലും, അത് നേരിട്ട് പ്ലേയ് ചെയ്യിക്കില്ലാ എന്നതാണ്. ഉദാഹരണത്തിന്, ഏണിപ്പടികളിൽ കേശവ പിള്ള കാർത്തിയാനിയെ
കല്യാണം കഴിച്ച കാര്യം പുറത്തു പറയാതെ തങ്കമ്മയുമായുള്ള കല്യാണത്തിന് സമ്മതിക്കുന്നു. പക്ഷെ കേശവപിള്ളക്ക് ആ പ്രശ്നം ഫേസ് ചെയ്യേണ്ടി വരുന്നില്ല, തങ്കമ്മ വേറൊരാളുടെ കൂടെ ഒളിച്ചോടി പോകുന്നു. അത് പോലെ, ഈ നോവലിൽ ഭവാനി ഗോപാലന്റെ കൂടെ പോകുമ്പോൾ, ഭവാനിയും ചെല്ലപ്പനും തമ്മിൽ ഒരു ഫേസ് - ഓഫ് നമ്മൾ പ്രതീക്ഷിക്കുമെങ്കിലും കഥയുടെ ദിശ മാറുന്നു. അങ്ങനെ നാടകീയ രംഗങ്ങൾക്ക് സാധ്യത ഉള്ളപ്പോഴും, അതിൽ നിന്നും മാറി സഞ്ചരിക്കുന്നു തകഴി. കുറവായിട്ടല്ല, ഒരു ഗുണമായിട്ടാണ് ഇതിനെ ഞാൻ കാണുന്നത്.
ചെല്ലപ്പൻ യൂണിയൻ അനുഭാവിയാണ്. അയാൾക്കു തന്റെ ഭാര്യ ഭവാനിയെ സംശയമാണ്. അവരുടെ രണ്ടു മക്കൾ, കുട്ടനും, അനിയത്തി കുമാരിയുമാണ്. ഒരു മുതലാളിയെ വിരട്ടിയതിന്റെ പേരിൽ, ചെല്ലപ്പന് ഒളിവിൽ കഴിയേണ്ടി വന്നു. ഭാവനയ്ക്ക് അതൊരു നി���ിത്തമാകുന്നു, ഗോപാലന്റെ കൂടെ അവൾ പൊറുക്കുന്നു. എന്നാൽ ഗോപാലൻ സദാ വ്യാകുലനാണ്, ചെല്ലപ്പനെങ്ങാൻ ഇതറിഞ്ഞാൽ എന്താകും സ്ഥിതി എന്നോർക്കുമ്പോൾ തന്നെ അയാൾക്ക് ഭയമാണ്.
ചെല്ലപ്പൻ ആണേൽ മറ്റൊരു പേരിൽ കൊച്ചിട്ടിയുടെ വീട്ടിൽ താമസിക്കുന്നു. അവിടെ പർവ്വതിക്കും വീട്ടുകാർക്കും അയാളെ ഇഷ്ടമാകുന്നു, അവർ തമ്മിൽ കല്യാണം നടത്താൻ പദ്ധതിയിടുന്നു. പക്ഷെ ചെല്ലപ്പൻ അവിടുന്ന് മുങ്ങുന്നു. ഒരു സമരത്തിൽ, മുതലാളിയുടെ ഗുണ്ടകളെ തള്ളിയതിന് ജയിലിൽ പോകുന്നു, അവിടുന്ന് പുറത്തിറങ്ങുമ്പോൾ ചെല്ലപ്പൻ വേറൊരാളായി മാറി കഴിഞ്ഞിരുന്നു.
രണ്ടു നോവലുകളിലും ഞാൻ ശ്രദ്ധിച്ച ഒരു പാറ്റേൺ - തകഴി കോൺഫ്ലിക്റ്റുകൾ സൃഷ്ടിക്കുമെങ്കിലും, അത് നേരിട്ട് പ്ലേയ് ചെയ്യിക്കില്ലാ എന്നതാണ്. ഉദാഹരണത്തിന്, ഏണിപ്പടികളിൽ കേശവ പിള്ള കാർത്തിയാനിയെ
കല്യാണം കഴിച്ച കാര്യം പുറത്തു പറയാതെ തങ്കമ്മയുമായുള്ള കല്യാണത്തിന് സമ്മതിക്കുന്നു. പക്ഷെ കേശവപിള്ളക്ക് ആ പ്രശ്നം ഫേസ് ചെയ്യേണ്ടി വരുന്നില്ല, തങ്കമ്മ വേറൊരാളുടെ കൂടെ ഒളിച്ചോടി പോകുന്നു. അത് പോലെ, ഈ നോവലിൽ ഭവാനി ഗോപാലന്റെ കൂടെ പോകുമ്പോൾ, ഭവാനിയും ചെല്ലപ്പനും തമ്മിൽ ഒരു ഫേസ് - ഓഫ് നമ്മൾ പ്രതീക്ഷിക്കുമെങ്കിലും കഥയുടെ ദിശ മാറുന്നു. അങ്ങനെ നാടകീയ രംഗങ്ങൾക്ക് സാധ്യത ഉള്ളപ്പോഴും, അതിൽ നിന്നും മാറി സഞ്ചരിക്കുന്നു തകഴി. കുറവായിട്ടല്ല, ഒരു ഗുണമായിട്ടാണ് ഇതിനെ ഞാൻ കാണുന്നത്.
May 31, 2025
Anubhavangal Palichakal is a hauntingly powerful novel by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, masterfully portraying the raw struggles of the working class in Kerala through the life of Chellappan, a flawed yet deeply human protagonist. Chellappan is not a hero in the conventional sense—he’s impulsive, angry, and often reckless, yet his fierce commitment to the labour movement and justice makes him unforgettable. His personal life collapses under the weight of his political obsession, as his marriage to Bhavani disintegrates, leaving behind wounds that neither of them fully recover from. Bhavani’s later relationship with Gopalan and the two children they raise becomes a quiet contrast to Chellappan’s restless, wandering life.
Thakazhi writes with deep empathy, refusing to glorify or condemn. Chellappan’s theft of coconuts and his subsequent escape with the help of a labour union show both his desperation and the solidarity that binds the oppressed. His journey from personal ruin to political awareness is not smooth or noble—it’s messy, painful, and real. Through Chellappan, the novel questions the price of revolution, the loneliness of idealism, and the quiet resilience of those left behind. Anubhavangal Palichakal is not just a story about class struggle—it’s about the emotional costs of fighting for a better world, told with the tenderness and toughness only Thakazhi could bring.
Thakazhi writes with deep empathy, refusing to glorify or condemn. Chellappan’s theft of coconuts and his subsequent escape with the help of a labour union show both his desperation and the solidarity that binds the oppressed. His journey from personal ruin to political awareness is not smooth or noble—it’s messy, painful, and real. Through Chellappan, the novel questions the price of revolution, the loneliness of idealism, and the quiet resilience of those left behind. Anubhavangal Palichakal is not just a story about class struggle—it’s about the emotional costs of fighting for a better world, told with the tenderness and toughness only Thakazhi could bring.
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March 12, 2021the second malayalam novel I completed. Pretty down to earth way of describing the proletariate lives in Alappuzha. The author also very meticulously constructs the mental dilemma of the protagonist which will enable us to think along with the person.
Recommended to get a kickstart in Malayalam literature.
Recommended to get a kickstart in Malayalam literature.
June 15, 2021
Simple story
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July 31, 2022പച്ചയായ മനുഷ്യ ജീവിതം പകർത്തിയ നോവൽ
July 21, 2024
Good read. Gives you a view into what life meant for the ordinary, and their extraordinary struggles.
May 2, 2025
ചെല്ലപ്പൻ്റെ ജീവിതത്തിലൂടെയുള്ള യാത്ര. ഹംസ , ചെല്ലപ്പൻ , ഗോപാലൻ, ഭവാനി തൊഴിലാളി വർഗ്ഗവും യൂണിയൻ പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങളും .
October 6, 2013
A typical book from the author popularly known as 'Kerala Mopasant'. This novel is set mostly at Kuttanad and nearby places. The novel follows a narrative style to express the life and struggles of Chellappan who got perplexed between his decisions and relations. If you are looking for philosophical snippets in the novel, you will be disappointed. The character Chellappan will stay in your mind even days after reading.
April 17, 2016
A typical life story of a low class men from kuttanad, kerala. The way of writing is not just contract in the best but it goes to classic. even the ending is packed with nostalgic and sadness. But this book cant accept by outsiders because it lacks of writings
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