Answer: Tribal writers from the North East India and Maharashtra have written novels. Narayan’s Kocharethi is considered as the first tribal novel of South India. The novel is about the Malayarayar tribe, their history and struggles in life, their myths, rituals, social customs and belief systems. The writer draws heavily from the oral traditions and evokes nature and spirit of the tribe imagined as present in the imagination of the tribe. G.S. Jayshree points out that the novel gives an insider’s view as Narayan chronicles the changes that happened in the lives of the inhabitants of the foothills of the Western Ghats under the impact of modernity. Narayan says that he wrote the novel since he was not happy with the writings of the mainstream non-tribal writers. The adivasi when represented appeared as a monochromatic figure; like the rakshasan or nishacharan of mythological stories. He feels that it was always a negative picture. The tribals are the asuran/the kaattaalan (demon) in their interpretation. In Hindu mythology, the demons are variously called rakshasan, nishacharan, asuran and the connotative significance of being uncultured who had to be killed by a diety wielding a shoolam (trident) or a savarna (uppercaste) of divine parentage. Thus, Narayan said they wanted to resist such biased representation. “We wanted to tell the world that we have our own distinctive way of life, our own value system.” The novel has been held in high esteem by many writers and critics like Ayyappa Paniker and Mahasweta Devi. Mahasweta Devi regards it as “a remarkable work.” Catherine Thankamma who translated it into English calls it “a landmark piece.” The novel is written by a tribal writer about the Malayarayar community that lives in the Western Ghats of Kerala and their experiences. The community had control over the hills once and they were the rulers of the hills. The novel depicts their life and experience in the changing socioeconomic and cultural contexts. The tribal’s perspectives on land have also been changing. Earlier they had a different kind of relationship with land but now it has been a part of the process of change. The community has also been negotiating with modernity. Another aspect of the novel is that it tells us about the way identity is formed – Adivasi identity formation. Narayan makes a conscious attempt to show his community as a different community with distinct form of cultural practices. He narrates the rituals, myths and world view of the people. The novel also deals with issues related to tribal woman, sexuality, marriage, pregnancy and child birth. Narayan also tries to reconstruct the past. The novel, Kocharethi, has been held in high esteem by many writers and critics like Ayyappa Paniker and Mahasweta Devi. It has been regarded as “a remarkable work” by Mahashweta Devi. Catherine Thankamma who translated it into English calls it “a landmark piece.” The novel is written by a tribal writer about the Malayarayar community that lives in the Western Ghats of Kerala and their experiences. The community had control over the hills once and they were the rulers of the hills. The novel presents their life and experience in the changing socioeconomic and cultural contexts. The tribal perspectives on land have also been changing. Earlier they had a different kind of relationship with land but now it has been a part of the process of change. The community has also been negotiating with modernity. Another aspect of the novel is that it tells us about the way identity is formed – Adivasi identity formation. Narayan makes a conscious attempt to show his community as a different community with distinct form of cultural practices. He narrates the rituals, myths and world view of the people. The novel also deals with issues related to tribal woman, sexuality, marriage, pregnancy and child birth. Narayan also tries to reconstruct the past.
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