Classics Retold

Malayalam word Kolla കൊല്ല has the following meaning as per Malayalam lexicon ശബ്ദതാരാവലി compiled by Srikanteswaram G. Padmanabha Pilla (published by Sahitya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangham, in 1983) According to this the word has the following meaning:-  ചിറ = a bank, a bund, an embankment, a reservoir, a natural pool, pond. Again Kolla is a Persian word meaning treasury official. Etymology of kolla is unknown. For that most of the words in the lexicon is silent. Thus kolla is a water body. When അം sound is added to kolla it becomes kollam. Since Kerala was formed by gradual recession of sea, water trapped in low lands below sea level took the form of natural ponds and lakes. An agrarian society where money was not in existence water was one of the precious things. But in this case the word is derived from Persian word ghalla meaning grain tax or tax on the produce. In the historical administrative systems of Kerala, particularly under the influence of Mysore Sultanate, the offici...

Mannerisms together with the ups and downs of life had combined to shape Seargent Troy as an exceptional being. For him memories were an encumbrance; and anticipations an overabundance. He cared what was before his eyes; and that made him vulnerable to the present. Time was a transient flash of the eye now and then; and it projected past and future, now and then.  Past was pathetic and precaution against future was foreign to him. Past was yesterday and future tomorrow, not a day after.  Since he had no expectation he was never disappointed. To set against this negative gains there were positive losses from certain narrowing of higher tastes.  He was truthful to men; but to women he lied left and right. ------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------- Two weeks after the shearing. Bathsheba was relieved because of the absence of Boldwood.  She was in her hayfield. Gnarled men and flexous women, covered with nankeen, whic...

Primogeniture and Marumakkathayam represent two distinct, often opposing systems of inheritance and family structure.  Primogeniture is a patriarchal system favouring the eldest male, while Marumakkathayam is a matrilineal system tracing descent through the female line.  The right of the first born son to inherit the entire estate of his parents, usually to the exclusion of younger siblings and daughters is primogeniture system of inheritance. The main focus of the system is to keep the estate undivided and to secure patriarchal hegemony  In traditional Namboothiri Brahmin society a strict form of Primogeniture was practised where only the eldest son was allowed to marry within the community and have a Vedic marriage. This was designed to keep family property undivided or fragmented. The elder sons were called Moothathu. The Namboothiri wife was called Antharjanam and could give birth to legitimate sons.  The younger Namboothiri sons (Aphans) entered into  infor...

For the Victorian wealthy, military service was less a job and more a primary path to power.  It became a social custom for the wealthy. The British army's purchase system ensured the officer corps remained an exclusive club for those with significant private means.  The Attractions   ° Status Symbol: Holding a commission was seen as a status symbol.  Even for the wealthy merchant class buying a son a commision was the fastest way to a higher social standing. ° Ladder to Upper Circle:  An Officer's uniform was a powerful social asset. A man attained the level of a desirable suitor for wealthy families and enter into higher circles of Victorian society. ° The System of Primogeniture and the distressed younger sons. Under the system of Primogeniture, the eldest son inherited the entire family estate.  The younger sons needed a respectable profession that didn't involve manual labour. The army was found the most attractive choice compared to other options lik...

In Thomas Hardy's Far From The Madding Crowd, published in 1874, Seargent Troy serves as a critical lens through which we see the Victorian military set up representing the charm, recklessness, and social superiority of army within a traditional agrarian community. As a dashing dragoon [1], seargent Troy acts as a dramatic counterpoint to the stable rustic person of Gabriel Oak and the established order of the farming community. Seargent Troy and the Victorian Military Image . Troy embodies the romanticised image of the Victorian soldier: Dashing, handsome and reckless.  His scarlet uniform is portrayed as a  superficial attraction that captivates Bathsheba Everdene, representing a glamorous contrast to the rural rustic surroundings. Despite his appearance, Troy is a heartless cad, who uses charm associated with his military position to manipulate women, particularly Fanny Robin and later Bathsheba, reflecting a cynical exploitative side of the military class. Troy is...

After the shear supper, before going to bed as a bailiff Bathsheba had checked all was well with the farm; and again she was to see everything was in order about the homestead. Gabriel had already done these jobs without her knowledge or order; but this tender devotion was unknown to her, and whatever  known was not accounted.  She carried a dark lantern [1] and every now and then turned on the light to examine nooks and corners coolly.  She always anticipated omission on the part of human hands leaving a door opened, or the horses might not be well bedded, or all the fowls were not in the coop. The buildings were inspected as usual and she moved onto farm paddock [2]. Here, the stillness of night was broken by steady munching of many mouths, and breathing through many nostrils, ending in snorts and puffs like the blowing of bellows. After inspection, her way back to the house was by a path through a young plantation of firs which sheltered the premises from the north win...