Vallathol narayana menon poems in malayalam language translation

Discourses on nationalism and nationalist movements tend to focus a great deal on the pan-Indian phenomenon. This paper seeks to study the idea of nationalism that existed in Malayalam literature. By using textual analysis of Malayalam literature written during the early to mid th century, the study addresses the idea of the nation and nationalism that existed in Kerala.

Focusing on the works of two authors, namely Sahodaran Ayyappan and Vallathol Narayana Menon, the representation of the idea of nation and nationalism in these texts are critically analysed. It is found that although the two were writing in the same time period characterised by the independence struggle, their responses to key concepts such as freedom, the notion of a nation and nationalism are distinct from each other.

Vallathol narayana menon family

Vallathol Narayana Menon on the other hand presents a conception of nationalism that can be understood at two levels: the pan-Indian version of it at the political level and the Malayalee sub-national identity at the cultural level. However, such a dichotomy is not where one supersedes the other. Rather, it can be understood as a continuum, whereby the Malayalee identity forms a part of the whole Indian identity.

Keywords : sub-nationalism, social reforms, progressive literature, multi-nationalism, Malayalam literature, nationalist movements, nation. The manifestations of such struggles were spread across various parts of the country, these were manifold and each distinct from the other.

Vallathol narayana menon krithikal

While there are studies of nationalist movements in different perspectives and aspects of the movement Bandyopadhyay, there are fewer studies focusing on regional experiences of Indian nationalism. The prevailing understanding of nationalist movements and nationalism in general, presents itself in an overarching narrative Das, Many contemporary scholars studying Indian nationalism have identified and critiqued this mainstream understanding of nationalism in the form of a generalised narrative.

They are often critiqued for being elitist and devoting excessive focus and attention to the efforts of a few social elites and thus being partial in their accounts Guha, There is a need for a thorough examination of regional experiences of nationalism. Thus, it becomes important to study the specific regional nuances involved in perceiving nationalism as well as the manifestation of nationalist movements in a particular region.