Interna tional Jo urna l o f Applied Research 2024 ; 1 0(7 ): 188 -1 90
ISSN Print: 2394-7500
ISSN Online: 2394-5869
Impact Factor: 8.4 Mysteries of Malnad: The Carvahlo saga
IJAR 2024; 10(7): 188-190
www.allresearchjournal.com
Received: 15-05-2024 Niharika S
Accepted: 14-06-2024
Niharika S Abstract
Assistant Professor, "Carvahlo," a Kannada novel by Poorna Chandra Tejaswi, blends mystery, rural life, and
Department of English, natural science. Set in the fictional village of Moodigere, the story follows Dr. Carvalho, a
Padmashree Institute of renowned scientist, and Mandanna, a bee-keeper with a deep connection to nature. The novel
Management and Science
Kengeri, Bangalore, begins with the narrator's visit to a bee cooperative to buy honey, leading to a series of events
Karnataka, India that highlight the challenges of modernization on traditional village life. Mandanna struggles
with personal and economic issues, particularly his desire to marry the daughter of a local
landowner who rejects him due to his unstable job situation. The plot thickens when
Mandanna is falsely accused of illicit activities, but with Carvalho's help, he is eventually
cleared of all charges. The climax of the novel is an adventurous expedition led by Carvalho
into the Sahyadri forests in search of a legendary flying lizard. After much effort, the group
witnesses the elusive creature, symbolizing the ancient mysteries of nature."Carvahlo" is
celebrated for its vivid descriptions, suspenseful plot, and exploration of themes like
tradition, science, and human relationships, making it a significant work in Kannada
literature.
Keywords: Modernization, human relationships, ancient mysteries
Introduction
"Carvahlo" is a novel written by Poorna Chandra Tejaswi, an acclaimed Kannada writer from
Karnataka, India. "Carvahlo" is a mystery novel that follows the adventures of the
protagonist as he delves into a complex case, uncovering secrets and navigating through
twists and turns. Tejaswi's storytelling in "Carvahlo" is known for its suspenseful plot,
engaging characters, and vivid descriptions of the setting. The novel is a celebrated work in
Kannada literature, showcasing Tejaswi's talent for crafting compelling narratives in the
mystery genre. The novel is filled with intriguing clues, unexpected revelations, and a
captivating storyline that keeps readers hooked until the very end.
The novel revolves around the character Dr. Carvalho, a scientist dedicated to his research on
agriculture and rural development. Set in the fictional village of Moodigere, the story delves
into the lives of villagers, their struggles, and the impact of modernization and government
policies on their traditional way of life.
The novel begins with the narrator, the protagonist, who is also the author, Poorna Chandra
Tejaswi. He visits a Bee Co-operative Society in Moodigere to buy honey for his father.
When he visited the Bee Co-operative, the rainy season had already set in for quite some
time in Malnad. The whole town was covered with mud and slush. His father asked him to
get some honey from Moodigere as it was cheaper there than in Mysore. An Ayurvedic
physician had advised the narrator's father to take a spoonful of honey every morning with
water for a month, requiring half a bottle. So, the narrator took 70 rupees with him.
Correspondence The narrator peeped into the office room and saw two young men scribbling something. One
Niharika S of them raised his head and asked what he wanted. When the narrator said he had come to
Assistant Professor, buy honey, he was first denied, but later, when they recognized him, they introduced
Department of English,
Padmashree Institute of
themselves. Both Lakshmana and Mandanna were working in the Bee Co-operative Society.
Management and Science Mandanna explained that a full bottle of honey would cost ten rupees. He distinguished
Kengeri, Bangalore, between pot honey and bottle honey, stating that bottle honey is machine-extracted, while pot
Karnataka, India honey is hand-extracted. The potted honey would be dull in color and easily identifiable.
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International Journal of Applied Research
Mandanna explained like a student explaining to a teacher. Mandanna asked Carvalho for the post of an attendant but
The narrator opted for pot honey. Mandanna provided fine was denied. Carvalho was accused of helping his own caste-
honey from the Gutti area. However, when Lakshmana man for the post. To get married, he needed a job. The
priced the honey at 78 rupees per ton, the narrator only had narrator assured him that he would talk to Ramaiah.
70 rupees and promised to give the remaining 8 rupees the The narrator decided to sell his land because: a) he wasn't
next day. The narrator was shocked when he saw the tin getting any profit from agriculture and found it difficult to
boxes in the room, assuming they contained kerosene oil. But pay the loans; and b) the brooding, enveloping silence of
Mandanna assured him it was pure honey, adding that if they Malnad, loneliness, and rural poverty wore on his nerves,
indulged in dishonest practices, they would end up behind driving him to despondency. He wanted to sell the land and
bars. leave the place once and for all.
While returning home from the society, the narrator's jeep In this novella, non-human beings also play an important
engine made a strange noise and then stopped. It wasn't role. Kiwi, the narrator's dog, is an interesting companion
raining that day, but the sky was overcast, threatening rain at with an extraordinary olfactory organ (sense of smell). Kiwi
any moment. He got off the jeep, opened the bonnet, checked was found barking at an earthen pot full of bees. The earthen
the battery, the plug, the wiring, but couldn't identify the pot was not an ordinary pot used for distillation of liquor but
problem. He received help from some pillion riders who was a way of tending bees in Malnad. Pot-breeding is an
drew petrol from their bike and gave it to the narrator to start ancient method and should be popularized. The bees would
the jeep. They helped push the jeep, and he eventually got it come, and once they started breeding, they would be put in
running. When he reached home, it was quite late, and his the bee-box.
daughter came running to him. The narrator's wife was Mandanna started to act strangely, avoiding everyone, and
shocked to see the tin of honey, as he had told her he was even refusing to meet Carvalho because he didn't give him
going to buy a bottle of honey but returned with a tin. The the attendant's job. He was upset with everyone and
narrator called Payara, a Muslim boy working as a kitchen everything. The narrator went to talk with Ramaiah regarding
assistant in the narrator's house. When Payara peered inside Mandanna's marriage with his daughter. The narrator told
the tin to see the honey, he said it looked like coconut oil. Mandanna's problem to Carvalho, who said, "If he gets
The narrator asked his wife for a bowl, lifted the heavy tin, married, he may behave a little more responsibly." Finally,
and tried to pour some honey into it, but nothing came out. Mandanna's wedding with Ramaiah's daughter took place.
The narrator was sad, thinking he had been cheated. With the Lakshmana played the role of father. Prabhakara captured all
help of a stick, they extracted some honey, which was thick, the moments on his camera. The narrator and Carvalho were
whitish, and very much like coconut oil. When he tasted it, it pleased to see that Mandanna had settled down happily in his
was honey, with the true taste! Everyone tasted it and life after his marriage.
confirmed it was honey, but the narrator was still Kiwi started making strange, painful sounds and ran as if
disappointed as he was expecting a luminous, heavy, golden- possessed. The narrator recalled a foul smell, unbearable to
textured thick liquid. Mandanna had given him the best humans. It was found that the smell was coming from a big
honey from the Gutti-side. The next day, the narrator went to piece of bone with rotten flesh still sticking to it that Kiwi
clear his remaining amount with Mandanna. When he had hidden under the cot to chew at leisure, unseen. Due to
entered the Bee Co-operative Society, he saw Lakshmana that bone, Kiwi got an infection.
and Mandanna arguing about the honey. The narrator One of the women workers reported that the police had
expressed his disappointment with the honey he had raided Norvey Ramaiah's house and had beaten up
purchased. Later, Mandanna explained about the blossom Mandanna mercilessly. During the raid, the police didn't find
season, flowers, and types of honey. anything except the Kasarike-blossom honey, which had an
On 15th August, the minister was scheduled to give an unusual smell. Kiwi was not keeping well, and when the
address in Moodigere. Mandanna and his scout group blew narrator reached home, he found his wife, daughter, and
bugles, beat their drums, and crashed their cymbals. The Payara anxiously looking at Kiwi, who was lying on the floor
noise disturbed the humble bees in their hive at the Taluk as if dead, his limbs gone stiff. The narrator was worried and
office, and everyone was attacked by the bees, disrupting the frozen for a while, then decided to take Kiwi to the
entire program. Mandanna failed to submit his application. Moodigere hospital the next day. Even the next day, Kiwi
Mandanna, a beekeeper by profession, is considered a was in a half-conscious state, and after analyzing the illness,
vagabond by the local commoners and friends. However, it was determined that there was something inside Kiwi's
Carvalho, the scientist with an international reputation, stomach. The doctor prescribed some medicines.
describes Mandanna as "a born naturalist," a man with a keen The narrator met Lakshmana in town, who informed him that
"art of observation" and "an extraordinary natural scientist." the police had arrested Mandanna and put him in lockup. The
Later, the narrator encounters Carvalho, an officer at the police had raided Ramaiah's house in search of illicitly
Paddy Research Center, a great botanist, an entomologist of distilled liquor. They took Mandanna's honey pot, saying it
great renown, and most importantly, the Guru of Mandanna. was illicit distillatory water. The narrator and Lakshmana
The narrator discussed the problem of pests eating up his went to the police station and tried to convince the police.
paddy crop. He was told to bring a few specimens and drain The narrator gave surety and bailed him out. A constable
the water from the fields as the pests had taken shelter near came to the narrator's house with a court summons for
the stem under the water. Mandanna. The narrator blamed Lakshmana for landing him
In Mandanna's life, emotional and economic problems are in trouble if Mandanna did not appear in court.
interrelated. He did not have a job, nor did he get married. The narrator went to meet Carvalho and described
He wanted to marry Norvey Ramaiah's daughter, but Mandanna's police case. Carvalho appointed a criminal
Ramaiah refused because Mandanna didn't have a secure life lawyer named Cyril Gonsalves to fight the case. The public
or a permanent job and felt Mandanna was jobless. prosecutor argued that the pot contained the base material for
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International Journal of Applied Research
the manufacture of liquor. Finally, they won the case.
Carvalho and Mandanna then went in search of glow-worms
in the forest.
Conclusion
The novel "Carvahlo" masterfully weaves a tale that merges
rural life, scientific curiosity, and the mysteries of nature, set
against the backdrop of the fictional village of Moodigere.
Through the journey of the protagonist and his interactions
with diverse characters like Mandanna, a misunderstood bee
keeper, and Carvalho, a renowned scientist, the story delves
deep into the intersection of tradition and modernity, as well
as the complexities of human relationships. The narrative is
enriched by vivid descriptions of the natural world, the
struggles and triumphs of village life, and the tension
between scientific exploration and rural folklore. The
climactic search for the elusive flying lizard symbolizes the
pursuit of knowledge and the awe-inspiring mysteries that
nature holds. Ultimately, the novel celebrates the spirit of
inquiry, the resilience of the human spirit, and the profound
connection between people and their environment, leaving
readers with a sense of wonder and a deeper appreciation for
the natural world
References
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2. Ramaswamy N. Exploring the mystery genre in
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works. Bangalore: Prasaranga; c2002.
3. Patil BS. The world of Poorna Chandra Tejaswi: a
literary analysis. Mysore: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan;
c2005.
4. Rao AN. Nature and humanity in Tejaswi's "Carvahlo".
Mangalore: Rashtrothana Parishat; c2010.
5. Shankar MV. A journey through the Malnad: the setting
of "Carvahlo". Mysore: Akhila Bharatiya Sahitya
Parishad; c2015.
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