SANTESHIVARA LINGANNAIAH BHYRAPPA is an eminent Kannada novelist whose works span twenty-four novels, six critical works and an autobiography. With an honorary doctorate from six universities, he is one of the highest-selling authors from recent times in Kannada literature. He received the Sahitya Akademi fellowship in 2015, and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016. He lives in Mysore.
Grihabhanga is a timeless tale of the heroic struggle of one woman against her husband, family, village, society and their ideologies. Set in pre-independence India, Grihabhanga is a compelling story of one woman's relentless struggle against abuse, treachery, poverty, famine and superstitions that riddle village life. Despite a shrewd mother-in-law who blames her for every misfortune, an incorrigible husband who refuses to take on any household responsibilities, and with all the baggage a mother has to bear, Nanjamma stands tall with her resilience, presence of mind and sheer courage. She takes upon herself her husband’s job of handling the village accounts and steps out of the boundaries of home to earn a little more by making and selling leaf plates. Will Nanjamma’s dream of sending her son to school be fulfilled? Will she be able to marry off her daughter to a respectable school teacher in spite of her husband’s wish to settle for a more financially convenient alliance? Can Nanjamma prevent her home from being destroyed? Will she succeed in endowing her children with the morals lacking in those around them? Or will meanness, disease and death thwart all hope?
