Kayar

Kayar (English: Coir) is a 1978 Malayalam epic novel written by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. Widely considered one of the most seminal works in Malayalam literature,[1][2] Kayar received many major literary awards, including the Jnanpith, India's highest literary honour.

This article is about the Mayalayam novel. For the city in Senegal, see Kayar, Senegal.
Kayar
(Coir)
AuthorThakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
TranslatorN. Sreekantan Nair
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam
GenreNovel
PublisherDC Books (Malayalam), Sahitya Akademi (English)
Publication date
1978
Published in English
1998
Pages986
AwardsJnanpith, Soviet Land Nehru Award, Vayalar Award
ISBN9788171300716

Plot summary

Set in Kuttanad, the novel traces the evolution of the central Travancore society from the early 19th century to the mid-twentieth century. It covers more than two centuries of Kerala life, encompassing six generations of characters. The historic transformation of man's relationship with land, as also between man and man, men and women and even man and God, forms the staple theme of Kayar.

Background

The idea of a novel which contains the vignettes of social life in Kerala stayed in the author's mind for many years. "Two hundred and fifty years of Kerala life flowed past my mind's eye. But I needed a form. I could find no help from the Western classics," Thakazhi reminisces. For years he carried the "germ" inside his head. One night, as he lay sleepless in bed, the Mahabharata epic with its episodic structure drifted into his mind as a possibility. The next day he started work on Kayar. It took him three years to complete the book.[3]

Translations

Adaptations

Awards
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References
  1. Jayasree, G. S. (3 August 2008). "Decolonising the land". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  2. K. Ayyappa Panicker (24 April – 7 May 1999). "The end of historiography?". Frontline. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  3. Malayalam Literary Survey — Volume 20, Issues 1-21. Kerala Sahitya Akademi. 1998. p. 86.
  4. "Jnanpith laureates" Archived 18 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Bharatiya Jnanpith. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
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