I realized that I have not posted any review on any of the Malayalam books I read. Well, let me correct myself.

Last week, I read these two novellas in one book by K R Meera: Malakhayude Marukukal (Moles of the Angel) and Karineela (Dark Blue).

Malakhayude Marukukal

Malakhayude Marukukal is very tragic. Failed love, infidelity, murder, separated childhoods. The story line is too familiar, but Meera does breath fresh life into it. You do not get a chance to feel judgemental about Angela’s repeated infidelities. It is portrayed rather as a defense mechanism of a pretty woman against the world of masculine lust. But fortunately, she is not victimhood personified; she does enjoy moments of it. It struck me now, the English translation of the title gets a double edge. Moles of Angela: The spots she has on her or her childrens’ body. The double roles she wears in each relation.

Karineela is again the story of love and infidelity, but it is not tragic in the usual sense of the word. She, a married and settled woman, suddenly finds out her true love in an ascetic and until she conquers him and get stung by him. The story is new and told in a very powerful diction.

Well, I liked the second story better than the first one, if at all comparisons between stories are permitted. The first person narration is deliberately sarcastic and deceitful. It places the narrative as a real-life experience and pretends to follow the rules of life and not of the story. That deceit gives the narrative, surprisingly, an accepted moral sanction.

The colour Blue, the image of lust as a sleeping serpent and the expectedly coupled references to the Lord of Snakes, Shiva occur through out the narrative giving it the tightening grip. If you want to read some of the most powerful use of imagery in the contemporary Malayalam fiction, read this story.

But I wonder, why the book was given a catchy striking Red cover. Because the stories are about love? Any other, more reasonable reason? I’m also not much impressed with the visualization in the story. It is a novel attempt, in the sense that short stories or novellas do not come with illustration in Malayalam. But I felt Meera’s words had given me much more a vivid picture of the house the protagonist was searching, than the accompanied illustration.

12 thoughts on “Two stories from K R Meera – Compelling Read”

  1. Pingback: sadomazaXIST » I realized that I have not posted any review on any of the …

  2. Sudhi A S
    1, October, 2009

    I read the article of K R Meera about “Poochali Gopalan Master” in mathrubhoomi weekly. Thats fine
    Please send KR Meera’s e mail id

  3. smrti
    12, January, 2010

    Thanks Sudhi for the reference to the article. I do not have any contact details of Meera, sorry

  4. haridas
    20, February, 2010

    malaakhayude marukukal really haunted me, i became in a tragic mood so dat i couldnt continue reading karineela. meera portarys sex in a different but forcful manner. i felt the fire of words wen reading her! r u dat smrithi paruthikkad of manorama vision?

  5. smrti
    17, March, 2010

    Thanks Haridas, for that detailed comment…
    And I do not have any connection with Manorama Vision

  6. muneer va
    19, June, 2010

    kareneela is a wantering story about women from india, it’s show to very reality for indian sex.

  7. shobhana
    18, November, 2010

    I liked K R Meera’s stories. but after reading karineela, i really appreciated her as a worthy writer. But i feel the story demand more admiration than this. i wondered by the unending search of love and by identfying the home of the lover , the premonition that he is there….that love sense. the determination to for the love, and sarcastic way of scolding her daughters were fabulous. i really liked the story.

  9. sandhya
    21, August, 2013

    am a great fan of meera. read all her works… karineela is my fvrt, as shobhana said it demands more admiratiion than this. and smrithi please read her other stories also like ‘ormayude njeranbu’ ekanthathayude nooru varshangal’ shoorpanaga etc. she is a brilliant writer.

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