Introduction
IN KANNADA, THE modern short story is known as sannakathe, virtually a literal translation from English: sanna for short, and kathe for story. Differing from the didactic intent in stories of ancient times, the newer form is closer in theme and treatment to Western short stories. Modern Kannada stories are divided into distinct phases of development: Navodaya or Renaissance, Pragatishila or Progressive, Navya or New Age, representing Modernism, and, of course, the experimentation in newer pathways carries on. The earliest collection of Kannada stories is Vaddaradhane (The Worship of Elders) written in the tenth century by Shivakotiacharya. It is a collection of nineteen long fables and parables exemplifying the precepts of Jainism. Later, there were the Panchatantra fables by Durgasimha in the eleventh century, and Dharmamrutha by Nayasena in the twelfth century. Since they were didactic in purpose, the style is formal, with strong overtones of Sanskrit. Later, Kannada, as a desi or local language, developed its unique identity while integrating the influence of Sanskrit considered as the marga or classical language. Over time, Kannada fiction has been reinventing itself by internalizing foreign influences too, predominantly from sources such as British, French and Russian fiction, to rejuvenate the language to refurbish local sensibilities. Kannada literature of the early 1900s is known as the Navodaya or the Renaissance phase. With exposure to Western philosophy and literature, significantly British, Navodaya writers explored local realities from new, uncommon perspectives. Themes for stories were from real-life situations and the style, therefore, moved from formal to casual. Eventually, the somewhat naive representation of local culture by most of the Navodaya writers led to the Pragathisheela or the Progressive phase. As the ideological stance moved from the Conservative preoccupations of representing local situations towards Leftist social concerns, stories tended to become introspective in style to deal with questioning prevalent conditions and trying to find ways of confronting social evils. This preoccupation with literature as a strong agent for change brought in the Navya phase, with stories dealing with personal and social existential situations, and the narrative style, therefore, becoming more contemplative. Experiments in early Modern or Navodaya stories trace their beginnings from stories by Panje Mangesharaya (1874-1937) from Bantwal, South Karnataka. He published his stories in Suvasini, a monthly magazine. His 'Kamalapuradha Hotlinalli' (1900) is considered the first modern Kannada short story. Typically, it deals with a local, real-time situation, treating it with humour.
About The Book
A TEASHOP IN KAMALAPURA OVERFLOWS WITH THE LIVES SQUABBLES AND SOUNDS OF ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD TANSEN SORELY REGRETS ABANDONING HIS GIFTED SON BILAS KHAN IN A STORY SET IN THE MUGHAL COURT A DOTING FATHER SACRIFICES HIS CHILDRENS HAPPINESS TO SERVE THE CRUEL DEMANDS OF HIS UPPER-CASTE MASTER AN INDIA ALMOST UNKNOWN TO US FLOODS THE PAGES OF THIS SIGNIFICANT SERIES OF SHORT STORIES SOURCED FROM THE LATE NINETEENTH TO THE MID TWENTIETH CENTURIES. RINGING WITH THE MUSIC OF INDIA'S REGIONAL LANGUAGES, ANI) PEPPERED WITH WIT AND SOCIAL COMMENTARY THESE STORIES ARE WINDOWS TO THE PAST AND ITS PEOPLE THE EVERYDAY STRUGGLES AND JOYS THE TIES OF FRIENDSHIP AND FAITH THE POLITICS OF LOVE AND REJECTION THE INTRICACIES OF BETRAYAL AND ENVY AND THE CONFLICTS OF CLASS AND CASTE WHILE CONTINUING TO BE RELEVANT TO OUR PRESENT, PUNCTURING THE BOUNDARIES OF TIME AND SPACE HOW MUCH HAS INDIAN SOCIETY CHANGED? HOW MUCH OF IT HAS NOT?
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