Indira Bai
Indira Bai is an Indian novel in the Kannada language written by Gulavadi Venkata Rao (1844–1913). Published in 1899, it is considered the first modern novel in Kannada. It dealt with the hitherto ostracized practice of widow remarriage. A social novel set in present-day coastal Karnataka, and allegedly based on real incidents, it portrays a society in transition. Supporting widow remarriage, it denounces social evils like corruption in the bureaucracy and the reactionary attitude of established religious institutions and takes a critical view of contemporary society. Plot Summary Indira Bai depicts the story of Indira, a child widow. Indira is an only child that is married, before the age of puberty, to an older man that is apathetic to her experience. Her husband is depicted as financially unwise and ignores her completely following their marriage for luxurious living. Indira, pining in unrequited sentiment for her husband, turns to reading for solace after her mother Ambabai’s advice. However, her mother is unsupportive of the material within the books Indira chooses to read, describing the novels as being written by “the mlechchha padres meant to destroy our caste.” Following the death of her husband, Indira lives as a child widow. She is