When Modern Meets Tradition: A Middle Class Mind’s Struggle in the Clutches of Technology in Perumal Murugan’s Estuary

Abstract

As the traditional and the modern lifestyle clash with the contemporary lifestyle, armed with the power of technology, it is indeed perplexing to find a middle ground between the two. The new lifestyle appears powerful enough to override the conventional, it is not so easy with the already established conservatives who are stubborn enough not to let the contemporary take its roots. Perumal Murugan, author and literary chronicler brings into limelight, how technology and urbanisation affect the middle class conventional households in his work “Kazhimugam” in Tamil which has been translated into English as Estuary by Nandhini Krishnan. Tradition is nothing, if not evolving. But over the past decade, there has been a sudden boom in technological advancements, making it difficult for the people to cope to with the ‘changes’. The youth adapt easily just like Meghas in Estuary but Kumarasurar, the protagonist of the novel is resistant and scared of the new things and the evils that enter the world in the name of ‘modern culture’. The novel deals with the transition of the protagonist from a depressed, anxious father to an open minded person who can adapt himself to the changing society.