Volume V Special Issue I January 2025

Name of Author : R. Dhanupriya, Dr.A.Suriyanarayanan

Title of the paper : Inter-Generational Conflict and Cultural Identity in Neela Padmanabhans Generations

Abstract: This paper analyses inter generational conflict and cultural identity in Neela Padmanabhans translated novel from Tamil Thalaimuraigal Generations. The novel is an interestingly intricate exploration of the Tamil speaking Chettis community of Eraniel in KanyaKumari. Padmanabhan vividly and realistically captures the struggles between modernity and tradition as how each generation wrestles with the evolving demands of social change, personal autonomy, and the preservation of heritage. The old generation clings to tradition, values, and roles, and the young generation cannot find balance between individual freedom and cultural continuity. This paper will discuss how Padmanabhan uses realistic narrative techniques, particularly lifelike dialogues, compression of time, and detailed character sketches, to encapsulate the intimate dynamics of familial relationships within a small town Tamil setting. Told as a story, Generations becomes a reflection not so much of a particular ethnic consciousness but rather a more general observation on the universality of familial and cultural conflict, marking it as a lasting piece of Tamil literature to echo across cultural boundaries. As Gloria Steinem says, We need to remember across generations that there is as much to learn as there is to teach. In this way, Neela Padmanabhans Generations is a response to this part of crossing and building new knowledge. The story bridges tradition and modernity as it records the lives of three generations in a small town in Tamil Nadu bordering Kerala.

Keywords : Inter generational conflict, cultural identity, realistic narrative techniques, modernity and traditions.

DOI :

Page Number : 40-45