Book Review : 'Songs of the Cauvery' by Kalyanaraman Durgadas

Kalyanaraman Durgadas's 'Songs of the Cauvery' takes place in India, between the 19^th and 20^th centuries. It happens in the South India, and has a mixed take on the happenings, at that time. The story begins when we are treated to a marriage and the death of a young girl. 

Newly married, the girl’s thoughts are around her horoscope. Mangalam had realised that her horoscope spoke of nothing good for her, and her not having a rebirth. So, she commits suicide and wishes that her husband marry her sister in a letter. Sambu, her husband remarries Bhavani, as per his wife’s demand. 

And so, we have Janaki and Panju, who are their children. Growing up, a determined girl, Janaki fights with the boys to protect her brother. Panju takes up wrestling after this incident. Janaki, who grows up learning English, is keen on completing her education and only then, would she consider marriage. But her mother falls ill and it falls upon Janaki to take care of her. However, after this, Janaki becomes the first woman to become an English literature graduate.

Meanwhile, Panju is married off early, and his bride is sent off home again, to return only after attaining puberty. Panju finds himself in Kumbakonam, studying. Panju is good at Tamil, Sanskrit and English and lands a job at a press. He is away from home and learning the ways of the world, lands up in the arms of a prostitute, devdasi Ranjitham and then towards the freedom struggle. But Ranjitham, who is a determined and brave woman, ends up doing Panju some good. How will this end up coming through?

Panju ends up becoming a revolutionary. Fighting the British, he puts his wrestling skills to good use. Meanwhile Janaki, who is at Tanjore finally studying, ends up falling in love with Arul, a Christian boy. Here, a lot of discussions with the Church authorities take place, during which Arul seems stuck between becoming a Father and marrying Janaki. How will this complicated love story end?

Kalyanaraman Durgadas from dkalyanaraman.com

Firstly, it is the horoscope and the suicide. Then it is the girl who wants to stand up for herself and her family. Then it is the boy, who is learned, but lands up, as a revolutionary. How it ends is a wonderful and twisted story. How the two of them manage around the times, and end up living their lives sometime in tears and sometimes with laughter. The parents are old and ill. Panju’s wife has now come of age and stays with them. Panju is wanted by the police. Janaki has no option but to become the person, who would take on the responsibility of the house.

Kalyanaraman Durgadas does a wonderful job with his debut novel, yet in some parts; he probably mixed it up too much to give it a proper end. He gives us the Vedic rituals and the Christian customs in an extraordinary mixture. He also gives us the traditional mix and the contemporary style in the book to provide us a good concoction of the old and new, but remember the mud at the end the coffee. That is how this book ends...

You can Buy the Book, right here.