Tales of Athiranippadam, translated from the Malayalam Oru Desathinte Katha, is the fictionalised autobiography of S. K. Pottekkatt, the acclaimed Malayalam writer. Sreedharan, the central character, offers us a glimpse of the author’s own life in the little corner of the earth called Athiranippadam, where he was raised. The narrative uses an interesting mix of street gossip, fairy tale and recorded history. The characters that people the pages hold within themselves reminiscences of people we have met, conversations we have had, places we have seen and people we may know.

This volume was first published in 1971 in Malayalam and won the Sahitya Akademi award in 1972 and the Jnanpith award in 1980.

Sankaran Kutty Pottekkat made his mark in the world of letters in the 1930s. In his youth, he was witness to historic events like the Mappila Riots in Malabar which was then under the British. These events are reflected in his semi-autobiographical Oru Deshathinte Katha. His writings are marked by his individualistic vision.  He was also the pioneer of travel writing in Malayalam and his travelogues gave Malayalees a glimpse into the worlds beyond their shores through his writings. Oru Desathinte Katha won the Kerala Sahithya Academy Award in 1972, the Kendra Sahithya Academy Award in 1977, and the Jnanpith Award in 1980. He died in 1982.

Translators

Sreedevi K. Nair is Associate Professor of English in NSS College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Radhika P. Menon is Associate Professor of English in Fatima Mata National College, Kollam, Kerala.

Foreword
Introduction
Translator’s Note
Acknowledgements 
The Reservoir

Section I
1. A Registered Letter  
2. New Relatives 
3. Kunjappu 
4. The Soldier 
5. A Birthday Party and a Soldier’s Tale 
6. Elanjippoyilil
7. The Turkish Army
8. ‘Appaanyam’, An Unfinished House, A Cat Fight
9. At Elanjippoyilil Again
10. Painter Kunjappu
11. Sources of Knowledge
12. Kittan Writer
13. ‘Asitation’
14. The Enemy in the Skies
15. Aisha
16. Woman, Gold, Police
17. The Skeleton and ‘Elanji’ Garland
18. The Monkey and the ‘Korkas’
19. Venugopalan
20. In Appu’s Farmyard
21. The Rebellion Ends
22. The Death Carriage

Section II
23. Speak the Truth
24. Athiranippadam Changes
25. An Exotic Journey
26. The Private Book and the ‘Zari’-Bordered ‘Mundu’
27. A Family in Flames and the Southerners
28. The Magic Star
29. Wine and Women 
30. The Story of a Treasure
31. Changes
32. At School and at Home
33. Trials
34. The ‘Yakshi’

Section III
35. The Quill and the Gold
36. The Well and the Calendar
37. Bad News
38. Kormeena
39. The New Enemy
40. Tax and Poetry
41. Jayamohanan
42. The Festival of Love
43. The Return
44. Ibrahim, the Story-teller
45. The Sanyasi at the ‘Althara’
46. The Cosmos
47. Paanchi
48. Rejection—Once Again
49. Bitter, Sour, Hot and Sweet
50. Congress Volunteer Kunjappu
51. The Snake at Kelancherry 
52. Two Stage Plays 
53. Ammukkutty 
54. Ponnamma 
55. Black and White 
56. The Chariot Trip 
57. A New Love Letter 
58. The Lucky Ones 
59. Tipsy 
60. Exile 
61. The Secret Arrows of Time 
62. From the Other World 
63. Problems
64. Father Too Bids Adieu
65. Adieu! Athiranippadam

Section IV
66. Murmurs I 
67. Murmurs II
68. Murmurs III
69. Murmurs IV
70. Murmurs V
71. Murmurs VI
72. Murmurs VII
73. Murmurs VIII
74. Murmurs IX
75. Murmurs X
Glossary