Book Review: Khasakkinte Ithihaasam (Malayalam)

I have been hearing/ reading something or the other about "Khasakkinte Ithihaasam" ever since the time it was published first. To start with, this was the novel that brought O V Vijayan into the limelight, notwithstanding the fact that he was an eminent journalist and cartoonist associated with the likes of The Statesman earlier. Being the movie buff that I am, Khasakkinte Ithihaasam once again caught my fancy when Director Shyamaprasad and actor Mammootty declared that they were coming together with the cinematic version of the same. Mamootty even visited O V Vijayan personally to seek his blessings. However, the project never took off :( Ever since, I was on the look out for grabbing a copy of the book and finally, I did manage to. One reading and I clearly understood why Khasakkinte Ithihaasam is considered what it is. The book, as the title reveals, is the history of an imaginary hamlet called Khasak located in the mountainous regions of Palakkad district in Kerala. The story of Khasak and its inhabitants have been sensibly narrated through the eyes of Ravi, the protagonist. The novel starts with Ravi landing in Khasak as the teacher of the single- teacher school, a new government initiative to spread education and awareness among the new generation of Khasak. Ravi is a big threat for Allapicha Mollakka, the head of the local mosque who teaches the Muslim students of the village, the basics of their religious book- Koran. Ravi has his fair share of enemies on one hand- lead by Mollakka himself as well as friends in the form of progressive thinkers of the village like Madhavan Nair, Sivaraman Nair etc. The novel slowly proceeds to establish the background of each of its characters like Mollakka, Thitheebiyumma, Aliyar, Appukkili, Maimuna, Sivaraman Nair, Madhavan Nair etc interspersing their stories with that of Ravi himself. It is interesting to note how the narrative swings back and forth in time and in and out of the life of its various characters in its course forward. The authenticity of the language and the character sketch deserves special mention. All through the novel, there is nothing much that happens in the village. On the contrary, the thrust has been to unfold what had happened earlier in the village and how circumstances had shaped each of its characters into the way they are at present. The novel also deals with sensitive issues like casteism, communism, morality etc but in a very gentle and subtle manner. None of these issues gain more significance than the characters themselves and thus, O V Vijayan manages to sketch the hamlet and its inhabitants in vivid hues and strokes. I have never come across a novel like this before and it is probably the novelty and uniqueness of the plot and the style that sets Khasakkinte Ithihaasam apart from other post- modern literary works. Winner of the Muttathu Varkey award, Khasakkinte Ithihaasam is more than enough a testimony to Vijayan’s keen sense of observance and unmatched narrative skills and intelligence.