Although M.T. Vasudevan Nair may be best-known and appreciated for his fiction, more and more of his readers as well as innumerable viewers of Malayalam cinema have grown increasingly aware of his skill as a screenplay writer. From the Translator’s Note by Gita Krishnankutty.All the three screenplays in this volume were developed out of M. T. Vasudevan Nair’s own short stories. Nirmalyam which won the President’s Gold Medal in 1973 grew out of a short story Pallivalum Kalchilambum (Sacred Swords and Anklets) which details the trials and tribulations of a temple velichappadu (oracle) when times begin to change.Oppol (Elder Sister) which is based on a short story of the same name sensitively portrays the world of a child as he attempts to come to terms with certain harsh realities that were hidden from him. Ennu Swantham Janakikutty based on the short story Cheriya Cheriya Bhukambangal (Little Little Earthquakes) is a peek into the world of the supernatural even as it depicts the inner workings of a joint family that is forced to take in an unwelcome guest. While the stories and screenplays are engaging in themselves, the volume also enables one to appreciate the similarities and differences between the written word and the cinematic medium. The writer’s mastery of both mediums, ably translated by well-known translator, Gita Krishnankutty is clearly on display throughout, making this book an invaluable resource for both lovers of literature and cinema.
