The story of a landowner family in pre-Independence India is told in Kuvempu's 1936 novel

Kanooru Heggaditi (Mistress of the Kanooru House), set in Malnad in the Shimoga district of
central Karnataka. Set in rural Malenadu, the film features a diverse cast of characters, from
the "seragara" Gowda to the unfortunate orphan of a bonded low-caste labourer, and it is
through them that the feudal system, which still exists today and disadvantages labourers and
women, comes to life in the beautiful rain-soaked village of Kanooru as well as its
surrounding villages.

This novel, Kannada's first Jnanpith award winner and a classic of modern fiction that depicts
a vanishing world, is widely described as a great Kannada epic. It's a well-written and
thoroughly amusing narrative about a section of India that has been mostly unaffected by the
British. It relates the narrative of Chandrayya Gowda, who rules over a tiny village. Gowda is
set to marry for the third time, this time to Subbamma, a young woman. However, as he
marries younger women, he becomes increasingly despotic toward his own family, including
his children from previous marriages, his servants, and, eventually, Subbamma, who is driven
away and returned to her family due to the cruelties of the deeply feudal and patriarchal
society she lives in.

The slices of life that Kuvempu portrays of living in this community provide a lot of the
pleasure in this story. Some of the action is seen through the eyes of the college educated
Hoovayya and Ramayya, but much of it is seen through the eyes of the villagers, with their
fear of ghosts their preoccupations with both survival and carving out leisure, where alcohol
plays as prominent a role as it does in many Western novels. In a deeply casteist and
oppressive system forcing labourers to do back breaking work in the fields only to be treated
as second class citizens even after work all the while being underpaid and disrespected
finding leisure is only possible though the consumption of cheap toddy. Kuvempu's skill is in
creating unforgettable scenarios, such as the tiger hunt that results in the death of one of the
villagers and Subbamma's escape from her violent husband. He is sympathetic to the
predicament of the women in this work, who have far less power and authority than the men
both in reality and as part of this narrative.

In this paper I will attempt to outline how the characters and events potrayed in the book
betray a deeply casteist, patriarchal and feudal mindset prevalent in Karnataka specifically
and Indian society as a whole.

Feudalism is on the decline, and young people, educated by English education and idealists
from the liberation struggle, are rebelling against ancient practises and superstitions. The
story begins when Hoovayya and Ramayya, two young Kanooru house men, return home
after their studies. Kuvempu introduces all of the characters in an intriguing way. In the
second chapter, a bullock waggon is involved in an accident, and Hoovayya is injured and
carried to the Muthalli residence. The novelist jumps back and forth in time for the next
twenty chapters, until Hoovayya heals and returns to Kanooru, introducing numerous
individuals and occurrences prior to the cart disaster.

Much has changed as Hoovayya and Ramayya return from their studies in the city to their
ancestral home. Subbamma, the young bride of Chandrayya Gowda, enters the House of
Kanooru, setting in motion an irreversible chain of events that mark the coming of age of a
staunchly traditional culture. The brothers are forced to witness Chandrayya Gowda's decline
into harshness, who breaks old familial bonds and expects an unattainable fealty, despite their
acute awareness of the cost of their education among the torpor of manorial life.

A sympathetic eye sensitive to the smallest nuance dramatises the early stirrings of change in
the lives of the Belas, highland plantation labourers and their labouring wives, proud Shudra
landowners, secretive and predatory Brahmin Agraharas. These personalities and voices
refuse to be hushed, revealing the epic conflicts of a crumbling feudal order.

The novel's vocabulary shows a local Malenadu flavour, in addition to Kuvempu's use of his
own flowery imagination. Ramachandra Sharma and Padma Ramachandra Sharma's
translation is excellent. Kannada terminology for forests, animals, and foods are liberally
included as is, giving the reader the impression of being near to the original Kannada work.
This vocabulary is essentially rustic and reflects the preoccupations of people in this part of
the world, such as calculating distances as, “as far perhaps as the time needed to chew an
areca nut" for example. This language can be anecdotal, raw, and aggressive at times, often
exceedingly cutting and sarcastic, and even contemptuous toward things held sacrosanct by
more "refined" individuals. By including anecdotes of “Nanja was a potter by caste. He was
reasonably good at many things, but not at making pots” and "Puttanna wasn’t married.
Nevertheless he punched Jackie’s nose with his right fist for having spoken to him
offensively about his wife," the author adds humour, possibly of a dark kind (Kuvempu &
Sharma, 1999)" in order to provide comedic relief while retaining Malnad society's deep-set
attitude, which can come out as rigid, repressive, and suffocating. When read from the
perspective of the novel's female characters, this reading is very moving.

It follows the lives of three ladies who married into Kanooru's family. Nagamma, Hoovayya's
mother, has a story that is typical of a Vokkaliga woman. However, the author emphasises the
inhumanity that has become a part of women's status in this society by carefully juxtaposing
the characters and fates of the other two women, Subbamma, who is married to the father,
Chandrayya, and Seethe, who is later married to the son, Ramayya. Subbamma is a tough,
energetic, and brave woman who can handle any situation. Despite her husband's
humiliations, she faithfully returns to look after him and his belongings throughout his final
days.
She is eventually destroyed by a totally normal, but prohibited for a widow, urge: the need for
sexual fulfilment. Seethe, on the other hand, was raised in the arms of a loving family and has
an almost Ophelia-like purity. Because her partner has too many reservations about
expressing his love for her, she is doomed to a sexless austere existence. Both ladies are
drawn to Hoovayya, which is the only thing they have in common. Indeed, as Kanooru's
'mistresses,' they enter and exit the house with such precision that their entrances and exits
would resemble a vaudeville routine if they weren't so tragic.
The novel attempts to function on three levels, according to famous critic G.S. Amur
(Kuvempu & Sharma, 1999) . First, it tries to grasp the poet's rich ecological and sociological
material from a historical perspective. The novel's central consciousness, Hoovayya's,
personality is then explored, including his aesthetic goals, spiritual search, moral issues, and
finally clashes with his society. He is an idealist who is fascinated by nature and earthly ways
of existence. He is compelled to return to his town, unlike his peers, and confront a 'decadent'
culture in flux. These close experiences, and the resulting "loss of purity," do not lead to
cynicism, instead he attempts in vain to alter his surroundings. Because of his Hamlet-like
hesitancy to act on his convictions, Seetha's sensitive and well-received love becomes a
multi-dimensional tragedy (Rao, 2016). Third, the novel's philosophical underpinnings are
provided through an examination of the link between nature and refinement.
I would also like to highlight the use of imagery and prose to maintain an honest telling of
Kanoor and the characters. The author uses similes and metaphors to outline authentically,
the realities of Life in Malenadu and the caste, gender and power relationships it comes with.
Subbamma comes from a poor background and has experienced the humiliation that comes
with it. She is not enthusiastic with her decision to marry an older man with three children
from his previous two spouses. However, the status she will gain by marrying him is more
valuable to her than naïve romantic fantasies.
Seethe is a child-like girl, one who still hoped to find a prince charming and live as part of a
loving marriage while in reality she had no actual say over her own life. The women all
exercise different levels of authority, as they grow older their opinions are also increasingly
heeded though they are still thought off as weak and unintelligent. Such a belief is betrayed in
plain sight in the first page of the first chapter when describing Hoovayya, Kuvempu says
“Black locks on a fair forehead bring to mind the loveliness of women. But there was no sign
of weakness in the face.“
Chandrayya Gowda is the average landowner of the time, deeply egotistical, arrogant and
proud of his wealth, which he uses to gain sexual favour with his lovers, usually less wealthy
than him. His deeply patriarchal and misogynistic way of thought is apparent in his treatment
of Subbamma and Seethe while his casteist and feudal, money hungry mindest is seen in his
mistreatment of the labourers.
Hoovayya is seemingly created as the ideal man; handsome, modern, well-educated and
sensitive. His college education seemingly gave him much to ponder, his childhood in the
village suddenly lit with an intellectual gaze and philosophical moorings.
The novel's stunning landscapes are exclusively populated by males, which is a related
element. Women, who are confined to the inside of their homes, are denied access to all of
the beautiful nature that is so sublimely conveyed. In fact, one of the novel's most moving
scenes takes place the morning after Hoovayya and Ramayya return from Mysore to
Kanooru. The men leave exuberantly for a trip to the plantations, while Puttamma stands by
the kitchen door, wishing she had been born a man as well.
Her husband is a harsh, suspicious, egotistical bully who, in his jealous rages, even resorts to
physical violence. Subbamma puts up with it since she finds it impossible to give up this new
life and all the benefits that come with it. Subbamma is often seen bored and exhausted, her
duties as Heggadithi keep her busy around the house but give her no real challenge, she is
relegated to the inside, kept as a tool to alleviate the domestic and sexual needs of the Kanoor
household. She poses a fire which tries to burn bright and be set free but being born into a life
of poverty gave her few life chances. In the eyes of the society she inhabits, her life is cushy
and privileged, being married to a landowner. When she escapes the potentially fatal abuse
meted to her by Chandrayya Gowda and returns to her home she is treated as an, other. She is
consistently reminded of her ostracization through petty actions. “He had seen her coming
down but had wilfully started up again after stopping for a minute with the sole intention of
not letting her pass. All the workers, both men and women, decided that Subbamma was
being impertinent and shouted at her to give way to the man who was going up” (Kuvempu &
Sharma, 1999). Her peers channelised their rage about being oppressed by Chandrayya into a
disapproving view of Subbamma and her changed position due to her martial title and
inheritance.
This Novel is an important socio-political source that allows outsiders a peek in pre-
independence Malnad and Vokkaliga society. The descriptive and emotive language allows
the reader to feel included and immersed in Malnad Society. The character arch of Subamma
and Seethe betray a patriarchal and feudal mindset which characterised Kanoor and the
surrounding villages and still bares resemblance to Vokkaliga life today.