நீர்வழிப்படூஉம் நாவல் விவரிக்கும் சமூக மாற்றம்

Social Change Depicted in the Novel Neervazhipaduum

Abstract

Among the works in Tamil novel literature that document the regional way of life, Neervazhipaduum occupies a significant place. Set against the rural background of Udaiyampalayam village in the Kongu region, the novel not only presents a record of regional life but also subtly documents, from a sociological perspective, the social transformations that occurred there as a result of changing times. During the period in which the land-based agrarian society was declining and capitalist society was emerging, the novel extensively portrays the changes that took place in the agriculture-based way of life of the villagers, the occupational transformation of the Kudinaavithars, and the process of urbanisation. The novel documents the gradual disappearance of caste-based traditional occupational arrangements and the tendency of villagers to seek new forms of employment. Extending the discussion with comparative reference to other regional Tamil novels and to sociological writings on caste-occupation mobility, this research article establishes, through a sociological approach, that these changes were not merely economic in nature but also brought about significant transformations in social relationships and values..