N. S. Madhavan
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N. S. Madhavan is a leading writer of fiction in Malayalam. He started writing when he was a student. 'Sisu', a short story that won him the first prize in a contest organized by a Malayalam literary magazine, Mathrubhumi, in 1970, was his first published work.
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[edit] Stories
In the Eighties he hit a decade-long writer's block. He came out with a story 'Higuita' in 1990. Since then he has published four collections of stories, a novel and one collection plays. His collections of short fiction are: 'Chulaimedile Savangal' (Corpses of Chulaimed), 'Higuita', 'Thiruth' (Blue Pencil), 'Paryaya Kathakal'(Stories about Names), 'Nilavili' (The Cry). N S Madhavan's contribution to the genre of short story, which is dying in most parts of the world, is reckoned by critics, as unique and noteworthy. As a short-fiction writer, his art gives importance to minute details and exemplifies the manifest skill and compact craft that short fiction as a genre demands. In Madhavan the subtle connections of criss-crossing dialogs and interlacing plots ultimately reveal an integrated narrative continuum.
[edit] Novel
Madhavan made his debut in the genre of novels with 'Lanthanbatheriyile Luthiniyakal' (Litanies of Dutch Battery) 2003, which has gone into nine editions. It was only in the thirty-third year of his writing that he published his first novel, 'Litanies of Dutch Battery'. Set against the background of the city of his birth, Kochi (old spelling, Cochin), the novel is a roller coaster ride through micro histories,nascent days of a newly independent country, the growth and decline of ideas, and randomness of events affecting human lives. Famous Malayalam novelist, M. Mukundan while reviewing Lanthanbatheriyile Luthiniyakal (Litanies of Dutch Battery) assesses the novel thus, "N.S. Madhavan has rejuvenated Malayalam fiction."[1] He encapsulates the novel in the following words, " (The book) is all about history and imagination -- the protogonists of new fiction that is in vogue. [2] Mukundan further said,
The novel is heavily populated with communists, priests, carpenters, cooks, boatmen, librarians, school teachers, even tailors. At times you will come across history makers from faraway Russia -- Joseph Stalin, Imre Nagy, Nikita Khrushchev...[3]
[edit] Drama
In 2006, he published his first book of plays: 'Randu Natangangal' (Two Plays).
[edit] In English translation
N.S. Madhavan's novel Lanthanbatheriyile Luthiniyakal was translated into English by Rajesh Rajamohan under the title Litanies of Dutch Battery. It was selected to the Man Asian Literary Prize long list. According to newspaper reports [4] David Godwin who was literary agent to Arundhati Roy would be representing the novel in English.
[edit] External links
English translations of his Malayalam stories
Write-up
