Nashtapetta Neelambariyum Mattu Kathakalum | നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട നീലാംബരിയും മറ്റു കഥകളും

by Kamala Suraiyya Das, Madhavikutty

Genres: Short Stories

167 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

See also Madhavikutty
Kamala Suraiyya (born Kamala; 31 March 1934 – 31 May 2009), also known by her one-time pen name Madhavikutty and Kamala Das, was an Indian English poet and littérateur and at the same time a leading Malayalam author from Kerala, India. Her popularity in Kerala is based chiefly on her short stories and autobiography, while her oeuvre in English, written under the name Kamala Das, is noted for the poems and explicit autobiography.

Her open and honest treatment of female sexuality, free from any sense of guilt, infused her writing with power, but also marked her as an iconoclast in her generation. On 31 May 2009, aged 75, she died at a hospital in Pune. Das has earned considerable respect in recent years.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Sreejith Sreedhar · Rating 4 out of 5]

തുറന്നുപറച്ചിലുകളുടെ കഥാകാരിയാണ് മാധവികുട്ടി. അവരുടെ ഓരോ കഥകളിലും മനുഷ്യജീവിതത്തിൻറെ പച്ചയായ സത്യങ്ങളും മനുഷ്യ മനസ്സിൻറെ വേലിയേറ്റയിറക്കങ്ങകളും നമുക്ക് കാണാൻ സാധിക്കും. ലൈംഗികതയെകുറിച്ചു ഇത്രത്തോളം തുറന്നു സംസാരിച്ച മറ്റൊരു മലയാള എഴുത്തുകാരി ഇല്ല എന്നു തന്നെ പറയാം. മരണം വരെയും സ്നേഹത്തിന് വേണ്ടി ദാഹിച്ച ആത്മാവും ശരീരവുമായിരുന്നു അവരുടേത്.

മഴയുടെയും രാഗത്തിൻറെയും പ്രണയത്തിന്റെയും കഥ പറഞ്ഞ നഷ്ട്ടപെട്ട നീലാംബരിയും, സ്വവർഗ്ഗപ്രണയിനികളുടെ ഹൃദയത്തിലേക്ക് ആഴ്‌ന്നിറങ്ങിയ ചന്ദനമരങ്ങളും, ഋതുമതി ആവുന്നതിനു മുൻപ് പുരുഷൻറെ പൗരുഷത്തിനു മുൻപിൽ തൻറെ സ്ത്രീത്വം കാഴ്ച്ചവക്കേണ്ടി വന്ന കുഞ്ഞുങ്ങളുടെ ജീവിതമായ രുഗ്മിണിക്കൊരു പാവക്കുട്ടിയും എല്ലാം ഓരോ വായനക്കാരൻറെ മനസ്സിലും ആഴത്തിലുള്ള ഓർമകളും മുറിവുകളും സൃഷ്ട്ടിക്കാൻ പോന്നവയാണ്.

[Viji (Bookish endeavors) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories. Stories which have the smell of earth after rain and goes straight into the heart of the reader. We can hear the sound of a feminist and also someone who is comfortable in the suffocating passivity. When one story talks about a Puritan,another talks of someone who breaks all the moral codes of society. In spite of these obvious contradiction in the mix,all the stories have the special Madhavikkutty touch. It always make me feel that I've lost something,but what it is that I've lost,about that I've no idea.

[EJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of 13 short stories read as part of trying to get out of the reading slump. All the stories followed the larger themes of womanhood, identity, love, the unit of family, societal expectations, death, desire etc. Death was probably the most dominant of themes. A little too much of it for my liking, at this point.

Madhavikutty writes it all with casual eloquence. And though I'm not a big fan of the all-enduring, sacrificial, submissive woman motif - whose identity revolves around the man in her life - that makes rare appearances in her works, here I can discount it because of the numerous opinionated, compassionate, and ambitious female characters that she builds.

ചന്ദനച്ചിത, മീനാക്ഷിയമ്മയുടെ മരണം, and അന്ത്യകൂദാശ are in the same vein and brought out hilarious instances of the pretention and greed of human beings against a backdrop of death. എന്നെന്നും താര was predictable. I probably enjoyed നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട നീലാംബരി the most. It made me revisit its movie adaptation Mazha, and albeit seeming a bit jumpy, I enjoyed its music and instances of inherent poetic subtlety.

[Sarath S Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

[Renju RAJENDRAN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orupadu ishtam toniyaa oru kadha✨

[Kaveri Gopakumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartwarming read for me. And for anyone who loves the lady and her style of writing. Even after all these years, you will not find another Madhavi Kutty. The way she takes the reader through the journey of little things we often brush aside as small and insignificant, but so beautiful when it is part of her larger narrative. Beautiful inside out.

[Ramesh Thampi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story named 'Chandanamarangal' is a gem.

[Dia Dayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not satisfied with some of the stories in this collection. Open ended short stories does not interest me much.
However I absolutely enjoyed reading 'Shasthrakriya', 'Anthyakoodasha', and 'Rosiekutty'. Also and I wouldn't mind re-reading these few.
I felt like I wasted my time reading 'Puthiya TV Set' and 'Ennennum Thara'.
Seriously I didn't quite get the whole idea that Madhavikutty was trying to convey.
But the last story from which this collection gets its name is a brilliant masterpiece. All the regrets I had of this book somehow completely vanished.
And sadly I don't think the other stories are worth mentioning. Just my opinion *shrugs*

[Aathira Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of short stories. Some that will continue to haunt me for a long time like Rukminikkoru paavakutty, nashtapetta neelambari, Chandanamarangal to name a few. This is the first Malayalam book that I managed to complete after many years, being a fan of Kamala Das, it was impossible not to. Simply priceless.

[Anjali Aravind · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not fully satisfied with all the short stories in this collection. But few of them made me look at certain aspects of life in a different dimension. like "meenakshiammayude maranam".."ennennum thaara".. "chanthana chita".. and the ending lines of " avashiahtangal" .. we're very thoughtful..

[Abilashmurali · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Shajith P R · Rating 4 out of 5]

പച്ചയായ ജീവിതങ്ങൾ, പച്ചയായ എഴുത്തു