Kerala Kerala, Quite Contrary

by Shinie Antony (Editor)

Contents:

The Leaf and The Thorn shinie Antony 1
1 Odd Morning Susan Visvanathan5
2 The Strange Sisters of MannarkadWilliam Dalrymple17
3 The Countryside M. Mukumdan31
4 Everyday and the Avant-Garde: The Avant-Garde:42
The Evolution of Society and Literautre in Kerala K. Satchindandan
5 Hijack Paul Zacharia59
6 Stone The sin, Not The Sinner Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil63
7 Orhan Pamuk, Nair and I Anita Nair67
8 The Argumentative Malayali D. Vijayamohan78
9 The Night They Arrested The Moon KR. Gowri Amma87
10 A Medicine That Cannot Be Prescribed S.S. Lal91
11 The Mundu Brigade Yusuf Arakkal97
12 Three Men On A Train Sheila Ku mar105
13 Silent Cats Omchery117
14 Sitrep Seventies Hormis Tharakan134
15 Fort Lines Shreeku mar Varma156
16 Chinese Takeaway M V Rappai167
17 The Clove Sarah Joseph174
18 Music And Lyrics Rama Varma182
19 Houseboat Story: A Travelogue In Disguise Jayanth Kodkani189
20 A For Anglo Stephen Padua196
21 A Matter Of Faith Vinod Joseph201
22 My Urbanization A.J. Thomas213
23 No Sex Please, We Have Cable Suresh Menon223
24 The Gift Nimz Dean233
25 Building Brand Kerala Shashi Tharoor235
26 Happy Omana251

253 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2009

About the author

Flinging away stereotypes, first-time author Shinie Antony has listed uterine woes with a dark and biting humour. She won a Commonwealth Broadcasting Association story writing prize in 2001 for the surreal Somewhere in Gujarat, a translated version of which appeared in the Malayala Manorama on Oct 18, 2001, and is in the present collection as Munnu. This is her first book of short stories. She worked in Kochi, Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai with The Indian Skeptic, Mid-Day, The Economic Times and The Financial Express.

Reviews

[Mohamed Zaman]

Anthologies of Mallu stuff.....

[Manu]

This is an anthology of 26 works, edited by Shinie Antony, who also contributes a few as author, interviewer and chronicler. The title, IMHO, is a bit misleading since the works themselves, while touching upon various aspects of life in the state or offering perspectives on its history, culture or working as travelogues, do not attempt to bring out the contrary nature, in whatever form that's meant.To be fair, a couple of works do attempt to show the contrary nature of the state and its residents, but that's in isolation, and anyway are not enough in number to justify the title.

Having said that, there are quite a few which I immensely liked. Will mention those (in the order in which they appear in the book)

Odd Morning by Susan Visvanathan. I've always been a fan of her work after I read 'Something Barely Remembered'. There's something that's wistful and haunting about the way she writes, and this piece follows that style.

William Dalrymple's "The Strange Sisters of Mannarkad" is quite enlightening, and has a fascinating theme of religion and legend.

Anita Nair's "Orhan Pamuk, Nair and I" is a wonderful short story that explores the psyche of Kerala's writers and critics.

"The Argumentative Malayali" by D.Vijayamohan perhaps best justifies the book's title, as it captures Kerala's unique stance on global and national issues.As a malayali, I'd say that his observation and insights are spot on. Its one of the best works in the book.

S S Lal's "A medicine that cannot be prescribed" is the kind of short story I love. The perfect mix of food for thought and a mild twist in the tale, that makes a perfect ending.

"Sitrep Seventies" by Hormis Tharakan is perhaps the strongest contender for the best work in the book. While I was mildly puzzled by the way the piece started, the way it swept across centuries and the lifestream nature of the work grew on me, and its amazing insights on law and human nature just raised it to a whole new level.

Shreekumar Varma's "Fort Lines" is a story anyone who has lived in the state, or visited on a 'wrong day' can absolutely identify with. I wish the kind of cosmic justice that appeared in the work happened in real life too!!

"No Sex Please, We have cable" by Suresh Menon ended up my favourite work. The humour is amazing, and I could easily identify the way a place changes or remains the same depending on what you're looking for.

Nimz Dean, all of 13 years old is the youngest contributor at "The Gift", and the 2 page work shows that she does have it for story writing :)

Shashi Tharoor uses all of his skills to make a passionate case for Kerala and investments in the state in "Building Brand kerala". A well written piece but having seen enough hartals in the recent past, I am not convinced.

"Happy" by Omana (as told to Shinie Antony) is amazing food for thought material, and is a fine ending to the book.



So that's about 11 out of 26, which are really good works, and a few others could work for you depending on your interests. :)

[Manish]

What a refreshing anthology on Kerala. With subjects ranging from religion, music, naxalism to oglers and pieces including short stories, articles and travel diaries, the book makes an entertaining companion. Try reading it.