History, myth and fantasy come together in Marupiravi (meaning rebirth), the latest novel to be released next week by Sethu, an acclaimed Malayalam fiction writer and ex-chairman of the South Indian Bank.
The canvas is Chendamangalam, his home town near the Muziris, which was once the trade port during the Roman empire centuries ago. It now assumes significance with its proximity to Vallarpadam, the country’s first international container terminal.
Chendamangalam has an important place in the history of Kerala. “It has been an idea that I have been toying with for quite some time, wanting to write about my land, its people, its history and its link with the world outside. But that never happened as I got engrossed in other creative works. However, in the last three years, I was able to give shape to this desire in the form of a nearly 400-page novel,” says Sethu, whose novels and short stories are widely read and have been translated into several Indian languages.
The history of his land has inspired him a lot. Chendamangalam has been home to the Paliath family, from which came the Prime Ministers and army chiefs of the erstwhile Kochi royal family that traded with the Arabs, the Dutch, the Portuguese and the British. But the British, with their colonial ambitions, were always looked upon with suspicion. This explains why way back in 1808, the then PM Govindan Valiyachan attacked the house of the British Resident Macaulay and freed prisoners.
Macaulay, however, escaped through a tunnel to the sea. The result was that troops from Madras descended on Chendamangalam and Govindan was taken prisoner. But on recognising his loyalty to his ruler, the authorities sent him on exile.
“Such tales of valour were always present in the back of my mind. There have been major social movements in Chendamangalam. Its links with the port of Muziris were also known. Jews had made the town and nearby areas their homes before their return to Israel. But what gave me clarity was the recent excavation at what is believed to be the Muziris site. I went through the excavation, talked to historians and even Jews and those inputs have given shape to the novel. Dark patches in history have been filled with creativity,” says Sethu.
