Sometimes famous stories of the past, like this one by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, solve problems in ways that would not be acceptable today. A mismatched couple (an uneducated “town rowdy” and university-educated, “fashionable lady”) begin their marriage at odds with one another. Frustrated by trying to change her husband into her idea of a gentleman, the haughty wife is constantly nagging and ill-tempered. The man calmly puts up with this until a quest to find poovan pazham (dessert bananas) proves too much. Themes include non-traditional marriage, social expectations vs. personal freedom, marital quest, gratitude, “education”, guilt, love, nostalgia.
Poovan Pazham Text / PDF (3,900 words)