Set in a world of whimsical adventures and folk-tale charm, The Life and Times of Pratapa Mudaliar follows the humorous escapades of the titular character and his better half, Gnanambal. Pratapa Mudaliar Charithiram – written in 1879 by Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai – is the first Tamil novel, now available in English after 146 years thanks to translator Meenakshi Tyagarajan. Though light in tone, the novel was Pillai’s vehicle for advocating women’s rights and social reform, and his pioneering use of colloquial Tamil helped make it a lasting classic.

Published more than 125 years ago, The Life and Times of Pratapa Mudaliar, is an adventurous journey to the realm of folk tales and fables, mythology, and morality. A colorful expedition from one story to another, it moves from humor to satire, from failure to success, from tears to laughter. Translated by Meenakshi Tyagarajan, it has a special essay by his great grandson Jeffrey Vedanayagam and an afterword by Sascha Ebeling. Katha proudly presents the first Tamil novel in a revised edition, published under the Tamil Literature in English Translation initiative of the TNTB & ESC.

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