Indira Bai


Indira Bai is an Indian novel in the Kannada language written by Gulavadi Venkata Rao. Published in 1899, it is considered the first modern novel in Kannada. It dealt with the hitherto ostracized practice of widow remarriage. A social novel set in present-day coastal Karnataka, and allegedly based on real incidents, it portrays a society in transition. Supporting widow remarriage, it denounces social evils like corruption in the bureaucracy and the reactionary attitude of established religious institutions and takes a critical view of contemporary society.