Unlike in the recent past, Malayalam literature has become deeply political in its choice of themes and forms. Resistance to the climate of intolerance that prevails across the nation today is a key element of the kind of writingin the language now. Some writers have been loud in articulating their opposition to the climate of fear sought to be imposed on the nation, while others have been trying to say the same things in a more subtle manner. The idea of resistance is also reflected in different genres, in works that deal with marginalised existence and the place of humankind in a world that is a war zone of exploitation.
2017 is a year in which Dalit literature and Dalit identity came into sharper focus. It was somewhat of a storm set off by the untimely death of young writer and thinker Pradeepan Panmbirikkunnu at the very beginning of the year. Pradeepan’s novel Eri on Dalit life and identity came out within months of his death, presenting a dark life situation and character of epic dimensions. The year also saw M. Mukundan come out with Nritham Cheyyunna Kudakal , a novel that uses local dialect as a kind of weapon of resistance to the marauding forces of globalisation.
Benyamin’s novel Maanthalirile Irupath Communist Varshangal also has the indigenous as its source of strength. Karunakaran’s novel Yuvavaayirunna Onpath Varsham , Francis Norohna’s Asaranarude Suvisesham ,V.M. Devadas’s Cheppum Panthum , Jeyamohan’s Aana Doctor , Ravivarma Thampuran’s Poojyam , Giji Mathew’s Daivavishtar , E.K. Sheeba’s Manjanadikalude Sooryan were notable works.
Short story is one genre that showed its robustness during the year. Among the noteworthy collections that came out during 2017 were Chandramathi’s Ningal Nireekshanathilaanu, Pramod Raman’s Maranamaass Vinoy Thomas’s Raamachi , Vinu Abraham’s Kaaval Maalaakha , V. Jayadev’s Bhayology , K.V. Praveen’s Ormachip , Abin Joseph’s Kalliassery Thesis and Sonia Rafeek’s Isthiri, to name a few .
Paul Zacharia proved his strong presence on the short story scene with stories such as Then. Sara Joseph’s Karupp , T. Padmanabhan’s Maraya , K.R. Meera’s Sanghiyannan , S. Harish’s Thinthakathom, P.V. Shajikumar's Sthalam , E. Santhosh Kumar's Parunth , Vinoy Thomas’s Kali , Francis Norohna’s Kakkukali and Thottappan , N. Prabhakaran’s Kaliyezhuth are some of the other stories that come to mind among the significant works of the year. The raging debate over Santhosh Aechikkanam’s story Biriyani spread beyond the printed page to the social media, bringing into focus issues of identity. Towards the end of the year, another heated debate raged over the response to N. Prabhakaran’s Kaliyezhuth , but the attack on the story go without being taken on with equal, if not more, vehemence.
K. Satchidanandan’s collection of poems Samudrangal Maathramalla stood out for its reverberating politics. So did his poem Niswam . When poet Sugathakumari put together 60 of Balachandran Chullikkad’s poems under the title Rakthakinnaram , it became a literary event. Her own poems Maricha Kunjungal Varunnund and Mounam showed that she is very much there, her poetic craft intact and her mind as agile and vigilant as ever. K.G. Sankara Pillai’s collection Ammammaar , S. Joseph’s collection Manja Parannaal , M.R. Renukumar’s Pothiyan , P. Raman’s Raathri Panthrandarakk Oru Tharaatt , P.N. Gopikrishnan’s Ente Jeevithathile Aadyathe Sthree Avasaanathe Sthreeyod Parayunnath , Aseem Thannimood’s Kanaathaaya Vakkukal , Kanimol’s Nilathezhuth and M.S. Banesh’s Nallayinam Pulaya Achaarukal show the new directions of Malayalam poetry. Balachandran Chullikkad with his poem Indian , K.G. Sankara Pillai with his Muthala , P.N. Gopikrishnan’s Masaladosayute Maathaav , Prabha Varma’s Karupp were individual works that stood out for their innate literary value and social orientation.
In the area of scholarship, E.V. Ramakrishnan’s Malayala Novelinte Desakaalangal , Kalarcode Vasudevan Nair’s posthumously published collection on the emergence of modernism in Malayalam literature titled Kalarcode Vasudevan Nairude Krithikal , and Sunny Kapikkad’s collection of essays Janathayum Janaadhipathyavum were works of consequence. Of equal importance is Sunil P. Elayidom’s ongoing series titled Mahabharathatham: Saamskarikacharithram, a counter narrative that would take the reading population of Kerala to 2018.
(The author is a literary critic)
