KOCHI: Kerala’s first tribal novelist and short story writer, Narayan, 82, whose novel Kocharethi gained global recognition, died in Kochi on Tuesday. Narayan was admitted to a private hospital a week ago due to age-related ailments and had tested Covid positive. He had been staying at Elamakkara in Kochi for the past 15 years.
Born in the Malayaraya community in Kadayathur hills in Thodupuzha taluk in 1940, Narayan completed his high school studies and joined the Indian Postal Service as a clerk. He retired from service as a post master in 1995. Narayan completed Kocharethi, his debut novel, in 1988 but struggled to find a publisher. Subsequently, the novel was published in 1998. Kocharethi portrays the struggles of the Malayaraya community through the life of protagonist Kunjipennu. The novel has been translated to English, Hindi and south Indian languages.
The critically acclaimed novel was selected for the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award in 1999. It was translated and published in Hindi under the title Pahadin by the Sahitya Akademi and was translated to English by Catherine Thankamma. The English translation titled Kocharethi, the Araya Woman was published by Oxford University Press in 2011. It was selected for the Economist Crossword Book Award in Indian language translation category.
Set in the backdrop of the traditions of the Malayaraya community in the 1930s, the novel unfolds the changing perceptions of the community due to the influence of outsiders. The novel unravels the cultural changes brought in by social transformation, poverty, alcoholism and the ruthless exploitation by moneylenders, land grabbers and police, which land the community at a crossroads. The English translation of the novel was adopted for Subaltern studies at the University of Calgary in Canada.
His other books include Ooralikkudi, Chengarum Kuttalum, Aaranu Tholkunnavar, Krishnanellinte Choru and Tholvikalude Thampuranmar. He is survived by wife Latha, sons Sidharathakumar and Santhosh Narayan and daughter Rajeswari. The cremation was conducted at the Edappally public crematorium on Tuesday evening. Condoling the death of Narayan, Assembly Speaker M B Rajesh said his demise is a big loss to the Malayalam literature, he added.