Oru Desathinte Katha
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''Oru Desathinte Katha'' ( en, The Story of a Locale) is a 1971
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
novel written by S. K. Pottekkatt. It portrays the people of Athiranippadam, drawing on history while detailing the story of one place. It won the Kendra Sahitya Academy Award in 1972, and the
Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...
in 1980. The story takes place over a span of about 55 years. It travels fro Athiranippadam to North India to Africa and Switzerland.


Plot

The story revolves around Sreedharan, a boy who was a resident of Athiranippadam. The story depicts the life of the villagers through his eyes and through the other characters. The novel is set in
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
where the protagonist was born. The novel begins with Steedharan's return to Athiranippadam some 40 + years after he had left. He is dropped off from a public transport near a petrol overhead tank that is situated on the plot where his teenage love's house once stood. He tells the readers the life of dwellers of Athiranippadam. The novel is divided into five parts: childhood; early youth; teenage years; and a concluding part as "marmarangal". A story told by Velu Mooper, a witness after Sreedharan's father's demise and a long spell of his solo trips to North India, Africa, and Europe. He meets several persons, who left deep impressions of variable human states of life on his memory. Emma of Switzerland, the Bengali Babu, his half brothers Kunhappu and Gopalettan (who made his life miserable by contracting syphilis), the mother goddess psyche of his Tamil Brahmin lady, who happens to be his one desire, the one-sided love of a girl who died of tuberculosis, Supper Circuit Set pranks, lost loves, severe solitude, his father's legendary life, and finally his long journey through different continents. He started by dropping his widowed mother at her father's home, "at first to Elanhippoyil, to drop mother there,and then to Bombay, a solitary voyage,and from there to the vast bewildering world" as SKP's own words. It is a haunting autobiographical novel, detailing some 60 years of history, offering history, nostalgia, plight, dreams,and finally, numbness. The novel ends with a monologue: "forgive me, the representative of the new generation of Athiranippadam, Forgive me for my trespass to your land, and consider me as just an antique collector,a non native person!"


References

Malayalam novels Indian autobiographical novels 1971 novels Novels set in India Sahitya Akademi Award-winning works Jnanpith Award-winning works Novels by S. K. Pottekkatt DC Books books 1971 Indian novels {{1970s-autobio-novel-stub