sentences:  The novel was written at a time when there was an emerging class of upper caste men (mostly Nairs) who received a Western style education, and were achieving prominent positions in British India.The period was a clash of cultures, as the educated Indians were torn between Western ideals and traditional practices.The Nambudiri Brahmins of Kerala, traditionally had marital relations with Nair women, known as Sambandham, since only the oldest Nambudiri youth was allowed to marry a Brahmin girl.