Is there anything in a name? What is in it, scoffs Shakespeare. You are your name, pronounces the Kabalarian philosophy that draws from Eastern and Western schools of thought to determine all that could affect human life.
For Sreejith Perunthachan, names are reservoirs of stories. Interesting, spicy, scintillating, and evolutional; it also is the product of a beautiful synergy of mind and some coincidence.
In Peru Edutha Kathakal , he collects a bouquet of stories that have left a mark in Malayalam. The choice of stories shows his focus is more on the craft that goes behind the naming a person, a home, or a book. Stories are mere media for him to narrate how the ‘name’ itself is a story.
Probably because the topic perches on the thin line dividing the light and the dense, or even the real and the surreal, the writer has lavished his literary litheness into it. The sheer flow of language gives us a feel that Sreejith must have written the book in one go though it is known that the chapters ran as a column in a Malayalam daily. Perhaps like the way ONV Kurup wrote ‘Bhoomikkoru Charamageetham’; the pen was so much in love with ONV’s words that it did not stop even once from start to finish.
Or perhaps Sreejith was uneasily calm, as Einstein was when he wrote his special theory of relativity after some ‘me’ time at the piano. On both ONV and Einstein, Sreejith has interesting takes. In the book, he explains how naturally ONV arrived at a name for his popular poem and how Einstein could have had an unseen influence on Akkitham before he named his epic collection ‘Irupathaam Noottandinte Itihaasam’.
It may not be tough for a writer like Sreejith to keep conversations with the reader going, but he makes it heady at times, adding enigma or even a dash of subtle romance.
This finds best expression as he narrates the power of M.T. Vasudevan Nair’s words in urging his readers to paint scenes of dusky emotions in their minds and when he explains how the name ‘Megharoopan’ fell on a poem that Attur Ravivarma wrote on poet P. Kunhiraman Nair; the poet who swam like a cloud, unfettered through skies of delicate passion.
Deep into the book, the writer emerges in full, juggling satire, ideological conflicts, and raw analysis of thoughts and trends. There is no ambiguity as he reaches out to his stock of awareness and finds a similarity in C.R. Parameshwaran’s gift for the readers of his novel ‘Prakrithiniyamam’ and Buddha's ‘Lotus Sermon’. Both are marked for their overpowering stillness that silences all clamour of questions, Sreejith says.
There is also no satire lost as Sreejith explains why K. Sachidanandan could have named his poem ‘Vikku’. It could probably be because stammer is kind of a mothertongue for man. To Sreejith, even nature could stammer and a drizzle might be one of the ways.
A bit more of research into not-so-literary facts could have helped avoid some errors. Like when Sreejith says Einstein found the atom to be made of neutrons, protons and electrons.
But that apart, Sreejith lets you lounge in his world of words that with its thrilling expertise seeks out unseen corners of the mind.
Peru Edutha Kathakal
Sreejith Perunthachan
Current Books
Rs.65
