Dravidian Novels through Ecological Perspectives

Abstract

The present research paper is intended to explore the selected three novels in South Indian languages through an ecological perspective as the comparative study in this particular area has not been conducted so far.

Carvalho (1980) by K.P. Purnachandra Tejasvi in Kannada, Enmakaje (2009) by AmbikaSutanMangad in Malayalam, Ini… by MalanmyPonnuchami in Tamil are the selected novels to be investigated. Though the Novelists of South India are unfurling the local ecological concerns, they also reveal the global connections behind these issues. Therefore, the hypothesis here is that ecology-based local novels are having dialogues with global issues.

Carvalho, a scientist with an international background and funding, fails to find a flying lizard and Mandanna, a rural truant claims to have seen the flying wonder. Thus the dialogical imagination of the global and local knowledge of ecology has been depicted. Devayaani and Neelakanta in Enmakaje discard their urban life and wish to lead a peaceful rural life. They reach Enmakaje and witness the sufferings of the people due to the aerial spray of the pesticide over the cashew grove. The novel Ini strongly argues that agriculture is not merely a job but is a culture. Chemical fertilizers infused into the soil will delete the goodness of the earth. In depth study of these three novels as a part of the ecological discourse in Dravidian languages will provide a vivid picture of Human-Nature, Urban-Rural conflicts also.