Sati Kamale

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About the Book This eponymous novel is centered on Kamale, who is an embodiment of wifely virtue? For fifteen - " long years Kamale lives the life of a widow to the outside world, nurturing the hopes of reuniting with the husband one day. Alone in the room, each night she wears her marks of a married woman with the dagger gifted by Umesha next to her. It could be seen as an exposition on the then existing indigenous discourse in India in the 19th century and early azoth century.

Kamale, in her rigorous commitment and in retrieving her husband from "death", is fashioned after Savithri in an intersexual reference to Mahabharata episode of "Satyavan and Savithri". The novel might look conservative for the present-day reader, but it is a representative literary work of the time when Paniyadi, among many others, wanted to regain the independent status of the Tulu language which had somehow slipped out of its pedestal.

About the Authors B. Surendra Rao, a recipient of the Rashtrakavi Govinda Pai Award (2015) is a retired Professor of History, Mangalore University.

He was a Sectional President (Modern Indian History) of the Indian History Congress at Kolkata and a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research. Some of his recent publications are Bunts in History and Culture (2010), and Ways and Byways of History: Musings on History and Historical Writings (2015). He translated many works along with K Chinnappa Gowda like Ladle in a Golden Bowl (modern Tulu poems, 2017), The Rain boy (Tulu folktales, 2018), and Tale of Narayana the Impostor (English translation of Mithya Narayana Katha by Polali Sheenappa Hegde, Forthcoming).

K. Chinnapa Gowda is retired Proffessor of Kannada, Mangalore University, and was the Vice Chancellor of Karnataka Folklore University for a while.

Some of his important works include Bhutaradhane: Janapadiya Adhyayana, Samskriti Siri and Jalata. Along with Proffessor Surendra Rao, he translated many works like D K Chowta’s Tulu novel, Mittabail Yamunakka (2018), When Moonlight is very Hot (Tulu work songs and dance songs, 2018),etc. He was the Editor of the Siri Epic as Performed by Gopala Naika (2 Volumes) and is a recipient of many prestigious awards.

Preface Here we present an English translation of the first Tulu novel, Sati Kamale, by S U Paniyady, which was written in 1921 but published in 1936. It was translated into Kannada by Padekallu Vishnu Bhat and published in 1997. But we have chosen to translate the Tulu original into English, using the reprint of the novel made on the occasion of World Tulu Conference held at Ujire in 2009. We thought that the first Tulu novel, which captured a particular nationalist mood intensely, if somewhat naively, should be made available to the English readers to understand the novel and the context which produced it. We have been, of late, engaged in an effort to familiarize the literary and cultural opulence of Tulu to those who are not part of, or familiar with, this unique linguistic and cultural space. It is also an attempt to remind them of the neglect in which an old but rich Dravidian language like Tulu has long been languishing. When S U Paniyady wrote his novel in Tulu and published many Tulu works in 1930s, it was his hope that Tulu would come out of its neglect and win recognition. Today, when we translate his work, the situation has not changed in any substantial way. But the efforts should not cease. We also thought that by introducing a Tulu novel in English translation the larger literary world would be persuaded to take notice of Tulu and its literary productions, particularly novels, to widen the terrain of their literary discussions and debates.

We have translated modern Tulu poems into an anthology, Ladle in a Golden Bowl (2017), more than fifty work songs and dance songs of Tulu as When Moonlight is Very Hot (2018), translated an important and much- acclaimed Tulu novel of DKChowta, Mittabai Yamunakka: A Tale of Landlord's Household (2018), and also an anthology of sixty Tulu folktales, The Rain boy (2018). This translation of Sati Kamale is done in the same mood and carries the same momentum. We hope that our efforts will remind the English readers of Thomas Gray's words, "Full many a flower is born to blush unseen ... ", but also that it is worth its while taking a look at it if it is brought to one's notice. Translating a Tulu work into English, or for that matter to any other language, has its hazards, but that should not counsel despair. How far the translator can capture the spirit of Tulu, and how well can he communicate it in English, is difficult to say. But the bridges between languages have to be built. The ambition of a translator, as A K Ramanujan had said, is not merely to translate a work from one language to another, but to transform a reader of a language into a reader of the language which is being translated. It would also enable unveiling of some unfamiliar aspects of the work in the language already known. We don't know how far we are equipped to pursue this ambition, but then, as they say, a little foolhardiness always goes into any venture!

Our forays into translation have mostly been our choices and done for our own pleasure. But some of our friends and well-wishers have kept on assuring us that ours have not been altogether exercises in eccentricities. We are indebted to Dr D Veerendra Heggade who has always been taking keen interest in our work. Dr BA Viveka Rai, Aerya Laxminarayana Alva and Amritha Someshwara have also jockeyed us to keep going in our efforts. Dr. Padekallu Vishnu Bhat, who had translated the novel into Kannada, has helped us in getting the meaning of some of the Sanskrit shlokas in the novel. Dr Shivarama Padikkal has provided access to us to some important articles on the novel. We thank all of them sincerely.

Introduction Sati Kamale is an interesting Tulu novel by an author no less interesting. Written in 1921 but published in 1936, it is considered as the first Tulu work with possibly all the features and claims of a novel. The novel is freighted with many issues which the nationalist India of the day grappled with or advocated. Although no single work can be said to represent the mood of the country as a whole, many of the literary works reflect one or more themes and problems that entered into the making of the nation of the period in which they were produced. After all, making of the nation is both an idea and an exertion, and continuous and complex interrogations go into it. The author of Sati Kamale was involved in it in more than one sense, which makes both the work and its author important for the readers of today.

On the Author: Shrinivasa Upadhyaya Paniyady (April 4, 1897- September 13, 1959) was born in a Shivalli Brahmin family of temple priests at Udupi and his father, Vadiraja Upadhyaya, was a priest in Anantheshwara temple. S U Paniyady's early education as well as high school education was in the place of his birth, studying Kannada, English and Sanskrit, and later he went to Mysore and Madras for higher training in Sanskrit. He passed the "Shiromani" examination in Sanskrit in flying colors, getting a gold medal. He went to Baroda in 1920 and joined a library to work there. He stayed there for three years before he returned to Udupi in 1923. It was during his Baroda days that he wrote the novel Sati Kama/e. At Udupi he got involved in business for livelihood but was increasingly drawn into national struggle. He married Bharathi Bai (1910-1945), who was the daughter of Pavanje Guru Rao, the founder of the well-known publishing firm, "Madhwa Siddanta" of Udupi. She always stood by her husband's nationalist and cultural ventures and Paniyady encouraged her literary pursuits. Some of her short stories were published in Madhuvana edited by PV Acharya and in Rangavalli, an anthology of stories by women writers published by "Lalitha Sahitya Maale", Dharwar. Sadly, she died at an early age, a victim of tuberculosis.

Paniyady's children made a name for themselves. His son Vadiraj became a well-known cine actor in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. He and his brother Jawahar combined as successful producers of Kannada movies, such as Nanda Deepa, Nava jeeuana, Naandi, Kakana Kote and others, some of which won national recognition and Naandi had the honor of participating in the Commonwealth Film Festival at London. Paniyady's daughters were Harini, Revathi and Rohini. Among them Harini became famous as an actor in Kannada films. Her role in Naandi brought her considerable name and fame.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages