Blue Eclipse

 

When I picked Blue Eclipse and other stories by Kakanadan from my library, I didn't know that the author is one of the best Malayalam litterateurs. 14 stories here present an interesting snapshot of his short story oeuvre. 

'Time-Worn', the author's first story published in Mathrubhumi in 1959 that earned him fame, is a sensitive portrayal on how things we use for decades hold a special place. 'The Glass House' poignantly depicts one man's loneliness when he's shunned as an outsider by his own village. These 2 stories, feel like breeze, different from others that rage like grade 1-5 cyclonic storms. 

'Harkishanlal Sood' and 'The Rogue' have protagonists who want absolute freedom without a shred of responsibility. 'Srichakram',  based on a Hindu tantric tradition and 'Babel' that opens with a passage from the Bible are potent dissections of sexuality, spiritual enlightenment and blind faith. The author obsesses over the color blue in 'Blue Eclipse' and 'Madness', showing how the color is both titillating and depressing. 'Siddhartha's Axe' describes what modern-day Buddha would do when frustrated at man's inability to break free from bondage. 

Not all stories here are set in Kerala as the author moves from Delhi to Trichy to Bombay and even to Leipzig. There's free flow of booze - cognac, vodka, toddy, local brew Salfotta made from a millipede and ammonium sulfate and foray into psychedelic dreamland in his stories. 

Kakanadan's portrayal of sex, violence, avarice and lust; of drug peddlers, prostitutes, drunkards and gamblers heralded a paradigm shift, modernism in Malayalam literature. He changed gears from platonic, sentimental love that writers glorified until then and stressed on physical love. 

The translation by Rishi Kakanadan, a son's tribute to his father, deserves accolades. An interview at the end helps us understand the author better, the rebel he was in life and in his writing. 

M Mukundan in the insights section writes 'it is impossible to read Kakanadan unless you are willing to give up the accumulated detritus of inhibition and conservatism in you', nothing else can sum up this collection better.