Penguin publishes new translation of Kuvempu’s Malegalalli Madumagalu by Vanamala Viswanatha

Vanamala Viswanatha, a bilingual scholar and a translator, is known for her translations of works of Purnachandra Tejaswi, Vaidehi, U.R. Ananthamurthy, Sara Aboobacker, Lankesh, among others. She has also translated ancient and medieval Kannada texts into English, including vachanas, The Life of Harishchandra, and Vaddaradhane.

An English translation of Kuvempu’s magnum opus Malegalalli Madumagalu, by Vanamala Viswanatha, is now out under the title Bride in the Hills. The translation has beenbrought out by Penguin Books.

This is the second translation of the classic work of Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa, better known by his pen name Kuvempu.

Earlier, Dr. K.M. Srinivasa Gowda and G.K. Srikantamurthy translated it into English as The Bride in the Rainy Mountains. The book was brought out by Rashtrakavi Kuvempu Pratishtana.

Kuvempu’s second novel Malegalalli Madumagalu was published in 1967, more than 30 years after he came out with his first novel Kanuru Heggadati (1936).

Malegalalli Madumagalu is set in the latter part of the 19th century. It narrates the stories of people in Malnad, where women characters occupy significant space. It is a widely read and critically acclaimed novel in Kannada. The 34th edition of the novel was published in 2021.

Vanamala Viswanatha, in her introduction to the translation, says, “With this magnum opus, Kuvempu stands tall in the company of Tagore and Tolstoy, and Manto and Marquez.”

About her translation, she says her work has ‘strived to grasp, and follow the structure of feeling and texture of experience of each of the characters and situations’.