Vijaya Poonacha Tambanda, Professor of History at Kannada University, Hampi (third from right) and others release “Andaman: Ithihaasadalagondu payana,” a translated work by N.K. Rajalakshmi (second from left) on August 8, in Mangaluru.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The book “Andaman: Ithihaasadalagondu payana,” brings out many aspects that conventional history has left unsaid. What makes the work special is that it does not read like a translated work at all, said Vijaya Poonacha Tambanda, Professor of History at Kannada University, Hampi.
He was delivering the keynote address at the release of N K Rajalakshmi’s translated work “Andaman: Ithihaasadolagondu payana“ and the subsequent seminar on “Andaman itihasa: dudida kaigalu midida managalu,” organised by Anekanta Foundation Trust and Karavali Lekhakiyara–Vachakiyara Sangha at the University College, Hampanakatte here on Saturday (August 8, 2026).
Stating that the very mention of Andaman still brings to mind the strange behaviour of its people, Mr. Tambanda said the book vividly documents the everyday lives of prisoners and indigenous inhabitants during the British colonial period and the Second World War. It also portrays, with great sensitivity, the emotional suffering of women prisoners who were sent there for minor crimes, abandoned by their families and forced to rebuild their lives in isolation.
The book also depicts—almost cinematically—the cultural turmoil, physical hardship and psychological violence experienced by Japanese soldiers who supported the Indian National Army and were stationed there during the Second World War, he said.
Chelyaru Government PU College Principal Jyothi Chelyaru presented her views on the theme “Women Who Walk with Courage and Resolve,” while University College’s History Professor S Ganapathi Gowda spoke on “Colonial Power and Resistance.”
Ms. Rajalakshmi said that Andaman was not merely a land marked by historical bloodshed; the book attempts to trace the inner cries of its people. History cannot be confined to textbook narratives alone. The book was inspired by the need to document the anxieties and hopes that lie beyond official records. She also mentioned that Shakunthala Shivaram’s original Hindi work was translated into English.
Lekhakiyara Sangha President Shakunthala T. Shetty, College Principal Jayavantha Nayak, Anekanta Foundation’s Uday Kumar Irvattur and others were present.
Published – August 09, 2026 02:00 pm IST
