BOOK REVIEW

Book Name: Kanneerussm Kinavum

Author: V.T.Bhattathiripad

KANNEERUM KINAVUM

“Getting your nose broken never removes the foul smell. You have to wipe the garbage causing it”- it is saying by a ‘Namboothiri Brahmin’, V.T.Bhattathiripad who was an Indian Social Critic, well-known dramatist and a prominent freedom fighter. He was born to Namboothiri Brahmin parents but did not like to follow their custom and traditions. He tried to change superstitions and untouchability among them.

‘Kanneerum Kinavum’ is his autobiography written in colloquial language which makes the readers to follow his ideology. V.T. did not hide anything and he expressed his feelings very freely. The content is about his horrible childhood, bachelor life, his activities and ideologies etc.. He couldn’t live like an ordinary man because he was an ‘Aphan’ (the second boy child of a Namboothiri woman) in that family. He had to follow some rules and restrictions.

He was not allowed to mingle with others. If he did any mistakes, all Brahmins would oppose him and he had to stand away from their group. He should follow their rules blindly.

In this custom, that Namboothiri Brahmins should learn ‘Mantras’, ‘Pooja’ from their childhood itself. They were not having a happy life or any other enjoyments like other children. And also ‘Aphan’ should live alone dedicate to his duties.

We consider Brahmins had high standard of life, it may be in early days, but now many of them are suffering a lot to move a day. They get income by doing Poojas in temples. In most of the Nmboothiri Brahmin families, we can see early marriages of girls with old men.

Women have no right to speak against it. They always live inside the house and served their family.

V.T. encouraged widow marriages in the society and tried to reform the conservative practices of the ‘Namboothiri’ community in particular and the society at large. He conducted the first mixed race marriage in the Brahmin society. Now the young generation started to think and they coming forward against the superstitions and horrible customs of Namboothiries.

V.T. Bhattathiripad criticized the Namboothiri life and he tried to give message to youth to be active on it. He could have added interesting and happy incidents which would bring relief in reader’s mind. While reading we could understand what he pointed out about the bad things among the Namboothiri families. His last sentence shows his aggression on Namboothiri Brahmins.

Then he used Sanskrit words and some slogans confuse the readers. But his feelings and attitudes will affect more the readers. Readers can quickly capture the message what V.T.wanted to inform. His words are much powerful and strong. He narrates his strong sequentially, that contains his childhood, adolescence, middle age and old age that will make the readers to understand what had happened in hislife.

The degenerated Brahminical ideology and its social structure had its first powerful assault from within for the first time and the most fervent slogan of the

period was for the transformation of Brahmins in to humanbeings.