KOCHI: Joji George Jacob’s first novel ‘Chathwaram’ is a riveting love story told in the backdrop of ‘Kathiroor’, a fictionalised village from where the people were displaced lock, stock, and barrel to make way for the establishment of a refinery in the early 1980s.
“I’m from Puthencruz. As a young boy, while travelling through Ambalamugal (where BPCL’s Kochi refinery is situated), I used to wonder what happened to the villagers who were evicted from the area to make way for the refinery. I used to imagine their pain as they passed by the area they spent their childhood in or made their first friends in,” says Jacob, explaining the premise of his novel. “But it has nothing to do with Kochi refineries or its surroundings,” he clarifies.
Jacob zeroes in on the lives of the people in the fictional village as the mass exodus tears them apart — the lovers who got separated by the quirk of fate and their emotions. “People may change as they move in different directions, but the novel discusses their emotions — are they still in love?”
As the story moves forward, ‘Chathwaram’ depicts how every character finds empowerment and finds themselves. The novel comprises three parts — the 1980s (which constitutes the bulk of the novel), the present and a final segment.
“A character in this novel will be you, or at least someone you know personally,” the author writes in the book blurb. Oommen Chandy, former Chief Minister, will release the book on Saturday at the MKD Hall, KHCAA Golden Jubilee Chamber Complex, Ernakulam, at 4 pm. Director Sibi Malayil will be the chief guest.
Book: Chathwaram
Author: Joji George Jacob
Publisher: DC Books
Price: Rs 199