Chemmeen (novel)

Chemmeen (Malayalam: ചെമ്മീൻ, cemmīn [t͡ ʃemmiːn], lit . prawn) is a Malayalam novel writ t en by
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai in 1956. Chemmeen t ells t he st ory of t he relat ionship bet ween
Karut hamma, t he daught er of a Hindu fisherman, and Pareekut t i, t he son of a Muslim fish
wholesaler.
 Chemmeen

First English edition cover

Author Thakazhi Sivasankara

Pillai

Original title ചെമ്മീൻ

Country India

Language Malayalam

Genre Romance, Drama

Publisher National Book Stall, D.

C. Books

Publication date 1956

 Published in English 1962

Pages 207

ISBN 9788171305506

Preceded by Randidangazhi

Followed by Enippadikal

The t heme of t he novel is a myt h among t he fishermen communit ies along t he coast al Kerala
St at e in t he Sout hern India. The myt h is about chast it y. If t he married fisher woman was
adult erous when her husband was in t he sea, t he Sea Goddess (Kadalamma lit erally means
Mot her Sea) would consume him. It is t o perpet uat e t his myt h t hat Thakazhi wrot e t his novel. It
was adapt ed int o a film of same name, which won crit ical acclaim and commercial success.

Thakazhi made a depart ure from his a vowed commit ment t o realism as it appeared in his works
t ill t hen he brought in a fresh breeze of lyricism and romant icism. The novel acquires t he qualit y
of a fable in which life in t he fishermen's communit y is depict ed wit h great emot ional det ail. The
cust oms, t aboos, beliefs, rit uals and t he day-t o-day business of living t hrough t he pain of st ark
exist ence come alive magically t hrough Thakazhi's pen.

Chemmeen won t he Kendra Sahit ya Akademi Award, India's second highest lit erary prize, in 1957,
becoming t he first Malayalam novel t o receive t he nat ional honor. Chemmeen was t ranslat ed t o
more t han 30 languages which include major Indian languages and foreign languages. The novel
was accept ed as part of t he UNESCO collect ion of Represent at ive Works - Indian series.
Plot
Chembankunju's only aim in life is t o own a boat and a net . He finally succeeds in buying bot h wit h
t he help of Pareekut t y, a young Muslim t rader, on condit ion t hat t he fish hauled by t he boat will
be sold t o him. Chembankunju's pret t y daught er Karut hamma and Pareekut t y love each ot her.
Karut hamma's mot her, Chakki, knows about it and reminds her daught er about t he life t hey lead
wit hin t he boundaries of st rict social t radit ion. Karut hamma sacrifices her love for Pareekut t y
and marries Palani, an orphan discovered by Chembankunju in t he course of one of his fishing
expedit ions. Following t he marriage, Karut hamma accompanies her husband t o his village, despit e
her mot her's sudden illness and her fat her's repeat ed request s t o st ay. In his fury, Chembankunju
disowns her. On acquiring a boat and a net and subsequent ly adding one more, Chembankunju
becomes more greedy and heart less. Wit h his dishonest y, he drives Pareekut t y t o bankrupt cy.
Aft er t he deat h of his wife, Chembankunju marries Pappikunju, t he widow of t he man from whom
he had bought his first boat . Panchami, Chembankunju's younger daught er, leaves home t o join
Karut hama, on arrival of her st ep mot her. Meanwhile, Karut hamma has endeavoured t o be a good
wife and mot her. But scandal about her old love for Pareekut t y spreads in t he village. Palani's
friends ost racize him and refuse t o t ake him fishing wit h t hem. By a st roke of fat e, Karut hamma
and Pareekut t y meet one night and t heir old love is awakened ... Palani, at sea, alone and bait ing a
large shark, is caught in a huge whirlpool and is swallowed by t he sea. Next morning, Karut hamma
and Parekut t y, are also found dead hand in hand, washed ashore. At a dist ance lie t he washed-up
corpse of Palani's bait ed shark.

Characters

Chembankunju - A Dishonest Fisherman

Chakki - Spouse of Chembankunju
 Pareekutty - Muslim Trader who falls in
love with Karuthamma
Karuthamma - Daughter of
Chembankunju
Palani - Fisherman who marries
Karuthamma
Panchami - Chembankunju's younger
daughter

Reception
The novel was an immediat e success alt hough t he crit ical react ion was mixed. Some crit ics
wrot e t hat t he novel is t he best social novel writ t en in Malayalam since O. Chandhu Menon's
Sarada . Some t hought t hat t he cent ral cord of superst it ion is a myt h. Some crit ics wrot e t hat
t he novel shows Thakazhi's decline as a progressive writ er, as t he st ory of Chemmeen is
essent ially romant ic and does not bring in class st ruggle like Thakazhi's earlier novels Thottiyude
Makan or Randidangazhi.[1]
Inspiration and influences
Chemmeen is Pillai's best novel which expresses t he aspirat ions, st ruggle and grief in t he lives of
t he fishermen of Kerala. Chemmeen has so much t o offer t o t he readers. This crit ical st udy will
help st udent s of advanced degree courses of various universit ies as well as general readers t o
underst and various aspect s relat ed t o t his novel. The t ragedy of t he poor fisherman has been
depict ed on t he epical scale. Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai's (Malayalam) novel Chemmeen,
accept ed as part of t he UNESCO Collect ion of Represent at ive Works - Indian Series, was
t ranslat ed by V.K.Narayana Menon, and published by Vict or Gollancz, London in 1962. It was t he
first significant Malayalam novel t o be t ranslat ed int o English aft er Independence or, rat her,
during t he early post -colonial era.[2]

Translations
Widely successful, Chemmeen was t ranslat ed int o English, Hindi, Russian, German, It alian, Arabic
and French along wit h several Indian languages.[3] Three years aft er t he original publicat ion, a
t ranslat ed Hindi version, t it led मछु वारे/Machhuware (lit . fisherfolks) was published. The t ranslat ion
was done by Bharat i Vidyart hi.

Chemmeen has been t ranslat ed int o English many t imes. Narayana Menon's t ranslat ion t it led
Anger of the Sea-Goddess remains very popular even t o t his day. Anot her English t ranslat ion is by
Anit a Nair, t it led Chemmeen as in Malayalam.[4] It has gone int o several edit ions and is readily
available at bookshops all over India.

The novel was t ranslat ed int o Gujarat i by Kamal Jasapara, published in 1980.[5] Chemmeen has
been t ranslat ed int o Arabic as well by Muhiyudheen Aluway t it led as Shemmeen.
Film adaptation
It was adapt ed int o a film in 1965, which won crit ical acclaim and commercial success. The film,
t it led Chemmeen it self, was direct ed by Ramu Kariat . Sheela, Madhu, Kot t arakkara Sreedharan
Nair and Sat hyan played t he lead charact ers in t he film. It won t he Indian President 's Gold Medal
for t he Best Film of 1965.

The screenplay was writ t en by S. L. Puram Sadanandan, wit h cinemat ography by Marcus Bart ley,
and edit ing by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and K.D. George. Songs were set t o music by Salil Chowdhury,
wit h lyrics by Vayalar, and feat uring voices of Manna Dey, K. J. Yesudas and P. Leela.

References

1. George, K. M. (1968). A survey of

Malayalam literature (1st ed.). Bombay:
Asia Publishing House. p. 178.

2. "India: yesterday's heritage, tomorrow's

hopes" (http://unesdoc.unesco.org/image
s/0008/000822/082219eo.pdf)

3. "Anger of the Sea-Goddess - excerpt from

Indian novel Chemmeen" (http://findarticle
 s.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1989_Feb/
ai_7546131/)

4. "Shinie Antony recommends: Must reads of

2011" (https://archive.today/20120707190
115/http://books.hindustantimes.com/201
1/12/shinie-antony-recommends-must-read
s-of-2011/)

5. Rao, D. S. (2004). Five Decades: The

National Academy of Letters, India : a Short
History of Sahitya Akademi (https://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=8JDsBBDoMccC&pg=
PA48) . New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. p. 48.
ISBN 978-81-260-2060-7.
External links

https://web.archive.org/web/201107190
85102/http://www.anukriti.net/ttoct/arti
cle4/page2.asp

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