''Meesa'' ( en, Moustache, italic=yes) is the debut novel of
Malayalam writer
S. Hareesh. It was serialised in parts by the ''
Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly'' and published in its entirety by
DC Books. Due to protests from Hindu organisations, the serialisation was cancelled after the third part. The novel was translated into English by
Jayasree Kalathil under the title ''Moustache''.
Award
The
English translation of the book, ''Moustache'', won the
JCB Prize for literature in 2020. The novel won the 2019
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel, which was announced in February 2021.
Withdrawal
In a section of the novel, a certain character suggests that Hindu women bathe and wear good clothes before going to a temple because they are interested in sex.
He goes on to state that women do not go to the temple whilst menstruating because they cannot have sex. These extracts, which were shared on social media, resulted in widespread criticism by Hindu organisations such as Yogakshema Sabha,
BJP,
Hindu Aikya Vedi The Hindu Aikya Vedi (HAV), Aikya Hindu Vedika, or Hindu United Front is a Hindu nationalist organisation in the state of Kerala, India.
History
The first chairman of HAV was Swami Sathyananda Saraswathi.
The first President of HAV was J.Sisupa ...
,
N.S.S. After this, the writer withdrew the serialisation of the novel from ''
Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly''.
In Court
A plea to ban the book was made to the
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
by N Radhakrishnan, a resident of Delhi. The court refused to ban the novel and stated that the culture of banning books impacts the free flow of ideas.
References
Further reading
* {{Cite web , url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/books/2018/aug/22/meesha-book-review-a-bewitching-phantasmagoria-1861381.html , title='Meesha' book review: A bewitching phantasmagoria , last=L. George , date=22 August 2018 , website=The New Indian Express , access-date=2019-01-31
External links
''Meesa''on the
DC Books website
2018 debut novels
DC Books books
Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award-winning works
Malayalam novels