Bride in the Hills

Set in the stately, forest-clad hills of Malnad in the Western Ghats during the late nineteenth century,
Bride in the Hills tells the love stories of young men and women aspiring for a life of freedom, dignity and fulfilment in marriage within a caste-ridden social order. Kuvempu's multi-centered text, with its organic weave of varied narrative strands, much like the Mahabharata, is epic in substance and style. The novel, which is rooted in the regional realities of Malnad, is yet another example of the diversity of modern Indian literature.

Kuvempu (1904-94) chronicles the emergence of a vibrant and complex rural society caught between manipulative colonial norms and discriminatory native practices. Bringing in the distinct experiences of the Shudra lifeworld, he led Kannada literature to great heights with his profound and poetic writing. Kuvempu's cosmic vision of vishva manava (universal man), which transcends narrow, sectarian boundaries, constitutes a precious legacy in the ethical traditions of the world.

This epic novel with the sweep of a Tolstoy classic enacts its mission statement: 'Here, nobody is important; nobody is unimportant; nothing is insignificant!' with brilliance, energy and imaginative power.


About the Author

Kuvempu (Author)
Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa, known as Kuvempu (1904-94), is a cultural icon who powerfully influenced the course of Kannada literature in the twentieth century. Born in a remote hamlet near Thirthahalli, in the Malnad region of Karnataka, he moved to Mysore for his education. He had a master's degree in Kannada, taught Kannada literature in the University of Mysore, and retired as its vice-chancellor.

Kuvempu's prolific and versatile oeuvre, with more than seventy-five published works, includes poetry, plays, essays, short stories, children's literature, novels, literary criticism, translations, and autobiography. The English translation of his classic novel 'Kanur Heggadati' (1936) was published by Penguin (1999), and made into a film by Girish Karnad. Kuvempu reimagined Indian epics in light of modern ideals of equality and freedom. His poetic epic 'Ramayana Darshanam' (1949) was a radical rewriting of the Valmiki epic, which won the first Sahitya Akademi award in 1955 and the Jnanpith in 1967. He has been conferred Padmavibhushan and Padmabhushan, the highest civilian awards. Inspired by Tolstoy's expansive canvas, and Aurobindo's philosophy, Kuvempu sculpted a modern yet entirely desi epic novel in Bride in the Hills.

Vanamala Vishwanatha (Translator)
Vanamala Viswanatha, professor of English Studies, has taught English for over four decades in premiere institutions in Bengaluru. A bilingual scholar, she has taught, published, and promoted Indian literatures in English translation, collaborating with Katha, Sahitya Akademi, and the National Translation Mission. An award-winning translator, she has translated important modern Kannada writers such as Tejasvi (1994), Vaidehi (1998), Sara Aboobacker (1999), U.R. Ananthamurthy (2001), Lankesh (2003), and Gulvadi Venkata Rao (2019). Her repertoire includes the translations of seminal pre-modern classics: Vachana (2012); The Life of Harishchandra (Harvard University Press, 2017); and Vaddaradhane, a 10th century Jaina text (HUP, forthcoming). A Translation Fellow at Ashoka University, she is currently translating L. Tolpadi's essay collection, Musings on the Mahabharata.