Indira Bai
Indira Bai is an Indian novel in the Kannada language written by Gulavadi Venkata Rao (1844–1913). Published in 1899, it is considered the first modern novel in Kannada. It dealt with the hitherto ostracized practice of widow remarriage. A social novel set in present-day coastal Karnataka, and allegedly based on real incidents, it portrays a society in transition. Supporting widow remarriage, it denounces social evils like corruption in the bureaucracy and the reactionary attitude of established religious institutions and takes a critical view of contemporary society. Plot Summary Indira Bai depicts the story of Indira, a child widow. Indira is an only child that is married, before the age of puberty, to an older man that is apathetic to her experience. Her husband is depicted as financially unwise and ignores her completely following their marriage for luxurious living. Indira, pining in unrequited sentiment for her husband, turns to reading for solace after her mother Ambabai’s advice. However, her mother is unsupportive of the material within the books Indira chooses to read, describing the novels as being written by “the mlechchha padres meant to destroy our caste.” Following the death of her husband, Indira lives as a child widow. She is restricted by practises that dictate the colour of clothes she must wear, and is not allowed to groom her hair. Indira’s parents leave her with a group of wandering widows that sing hymns, as they fear Indira’s readings may be negatively shaping her attitudes. However, Indira is wary of the group’s leader and runs away. Indira hides with another young student at a lawyer’s house. The lawyer, Amritaraya and his wife Jalajakshi are socially progressive individuals. Under their care, Indira is able to pursue her interests and they also send her to school. The school, Saraswati Mandir, is especially concerned with educating young women. Together, the lawyer and his wife nourish Indira’s youth and support her by challenging orthodox notions surrounding child marriage and child widows. The novel ends with Indira reuniting with her parents. Characters Indira Bai is the central character of the novel. Indira is a young girl, who after her husband’s death, becomes a child widow. Bhimarao is Indira’s father. Ambabai is Indira’s mother. Amritaraya is a reformist lawyer who takes Indira under his wing. Jalajakshi is Amritaraya’s wife. Bhaskara is a student that is also living with Amritaraya. He is also “the son of a Sundararaya whom Indira’s parents poisoned several years ago.” Setting A central focus of Indira Bai is the “encounter…between colonial modernity and the Saraswat brahman community.” Furthermore, the novel is centralised in South Canara, a “naturally trilingual region with Tulu, Konkani, and Kannada being the three main spoken languages.” In his novel Rao incorporates all three languages to accurately depict the socio-contextual tensions of his contemporary, whilst also incorporating elements of “colonial modernity” such as western science, medicine, and technology. Furthermore, Rao creates a “cultural landscape” in the novel through his incorporation of Sanskrit discourses and music. Contextual Influence Indira Bai’s central