Author | Ambikasuthan Mangad |
---|---|
Translator | J. Devika (English) |
Language | Malayalam |
Genre | Novel |
Publisher | DC Books |
Publication date | 2009 |
Publication place | India |
Published in English | 2017 |
Enmakaje is a Malayalam language novel written by Ambikasuthan Mangad based on the life of the people in Enmakaje, a village in Kasargod affected by the Endosulfan disaster in Kerala. Ambikasuthan Mangad, a professor of Malayalam at Nehru Arts and Science College, wrote the novel after directly visiting the areas affected by Endosulfan. [1] This is his debut novel. The novel is used as a textbook in seven universities. [2] The book brought attention to the plight of the pesticide victims. [3] [4] The novel has been published in 17 editions in Malayalam and has been translated into English, Tamil and Kannada. [2] An upcoming Hindi translation is being published by the Hindi Prachar Sabha on the organization's 100th anniversary. [5]
The novel depicts the challenges faced by the people of Enmakaje, a village at Karnataka border in Kasargod district of Kerala, due to the lethal chemical Endosulfan used by a plantation corporation in 5,000-hectare cashew plantation in the village. [4]
A couple named Neelakantan and Devayani live on a hill inside a forest. After living in self-induced isolation for six years, They are coming to the place named Swarga which literally means heaven. [6] There they see an unusual environment with children and calves with deformed bodies, ponds with no fish and a sky with no birds, and realize that Swarga is no heaven at all. [6] Devayani decides to bring home a child named Pareekshit, who has never walked in his 7 years of life, who has grey hair and sores all over his body due to pesticide poisoning. [7] Through this child, which the couple later adopts, the horror of endosulfan poisoning unfolds before readers. [7] The couple later joins the struggle against the pesticide. [8]
J. Devika translated novel Enmakaje into English with the name Swarga. [3] The novel is named after Swarga, the name of a place in Enmakaje village affected by the pesticide. [4] The Tamil translation was done by Sirpi Palasupramaniyam. [9]
Malayalam is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was designated a "Classical Language of India" in 2013. Malayalam has official language status in Kerala, Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé), and is also the primary spoken language of Lakshadweep and is spoken by 35 million people in India. Malayalam is also spoken by linguistic minorities in the neighbouring states; with a significant number of speakers in the Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka, and Kanyakumari, Coimbatore and Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. It is also spoken by the Malayali Diaspora worldwide, especially in the Persian Gulf countries, due to the large populations of Malayali expatriates there. They are a significant population in each city in India including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad etc.
Kasaragod is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala and is also known as Sapta Bhasha Sangama Bhumi.
Kanhangad is a major town, located in the Kasaragod District, state of Kerala, India.
Endosulfan is an off-patent organochlorine insecticide and acaricide that is being phased out globally. It became a highly controversial agrichemical due to its acute toxicity, potential for bioaccumulation, and role as an endocrine disruptor. Because of its threats to human health and the environment, a global ban on the manufacture and use of endosulfan was negotiated under the Stockholm Convention in April 2011. The ban took effect in mid-2012, with certain uses exempted for five additional years. More than 80 countries, including the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, several West African nations, the United States, Brazil, and Canada had already banned it or announced phase-outs by the time the Stockholm Convention ban was agreed upon. It is still used extensively in India and China despite laws against its use. It is also used in a few other countries. It is produced by the Israeli firm Makhteshim Agan and several manufacturers in India and China. On May 13, 2011, the India Supreme Court ordered a ban on the production and sale of endosulfan in India, pending further notice.
Sankarankutty Kunjiraman Pottekkatt was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature, traveller, and politician from Kerala. Best known for his travelogues, he has authored nearly 60 books, which include 10 novels, 24 collections of short stories, three anthologies of poems, 18 travelogues, four plays, a collection of essays and a couple of books based on personal reminiscences.
Devayani is an Indian actress known for her works primarily in Tamil films. She also appears in few Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam and Bengali.
Attoor Ravi Varma was an Indian poet and translator of Malayalam literature. One of the pioneers of modern Malayalam poetry, Ravi Varma is a recipient of Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Translation, besides many other honours. The Government of Kerala honoured him with their highest literary award, the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, in 2012 and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi inducted him as their distinguished fellow in 2017.
V. M. Girija is an Indian poet and essayist, writing in Malayalam language. She has published a number of books, which include Prem - Ek Album, the Hindi translation of her poetry anthology in Malayalam, Pranayam Oralbum. Kerala Sahithya Akademi awarded her their 2018 annual award for poetry and she is a recipient of 'Changmpuzha Award for literature' and the 'Basheer Amma Malayalam Puraskaram'.
Kasaragod is one of the 14 districts in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Its northern border Thalappady is located just 9 km south to Ullal, which is the southernmost portion of the major port city Mangalore, on the southwestern Malabar coast of India.
Enmakaje is a village in Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. The administrative capital of the village is Perla, Kasaragod.
Santhosh Aechikkanam is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature and a screenwriter in Malayalam cinema. He is known for his short stories, which include Komala and Biriyani. He also wrote screenplays for films such as Annayum Rasoolum and Bachelor Party.
Ambikasuthan Mangad is an Indian Malayalam language writer. He was a professor of Malayalam at Nehru Arts and Science College, Kanhangad. His literary contributions range from short stories to novels in Malayalam. He has written more than 40 books.
Pakarnnattam is a 2012 Malayalam film directed by Jayaraj, starring Jayaram and Jayaraj's wife Sabitha Jayaraj in the lead roles. The film is based on political violences and fight against Endosulfan menace in Kasargod, Kerala.
Kocharethi is a Malayalam novel by Narayan, often described as Kerala’s first tribal novelist, that was published in 1998. The novel, through the lives of its protagonist Kunjupennu and her childhood love and later husband, Kochuraman, depicts the history, traditions and travails of the Malay Arayan tribal community in Kerala in the twentieth century. While Narayan completed the manuscript of the novel in 1988, it was published only ten years later by the D C Books. The novel was critically acclaimed and went on to win the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
Jayakumari Devika is a Malayali historian, feminist, social critic and academician from Kerala. She currently researches and teaches at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram as a Professor. She has authored several books and articles on gender relations in early Kerala society. She is bilingual and has translated both fiction and non-fiction books between Malayalam and English. She also writes on gender, politics, social reforms and development in Kerala on publications like Kafila, Economic and Political Weekly and The Wire.
Valiya Chirakula Pakshikal is a 2015 Indian Malayalam drama film written and directed by Dr. Biju and produced by Dr. A.K. Pillai. It is based on an incident in a small village in Kasaragod in the state of Kerala where thousands of people were infected with fatal diseases due to the effects of endosulfan, a pesticide used to protect cashewnut trees.
Perla is an administrative capital of Enmakaje Panchayat, which is in Kasaragod district, Kerala, India.
Amoeba is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Manoj Kana. It is the second film directed by him after Chayilyam (2014). The film stars Aneesh G. Menon, Athmiya Rajan, Anumol, Indrans and Anoop Chandran in the lead roles.
Soordelu Hill Station is a hill station in Kasaragod district of Kerala, India. It lies 250 to 300 metres above sea level. It has two approaches, an easier one from Soordelu Junction and a difficult one from Swarga. Sri Subraya Temple Katukukke is the nearest temple to this place. It is located 22 km north of the District headquarters in Kasaragod. It is 25 km from Manjeshwar and 593 km from state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is surrounded by Kasargod Taluk (south), Manjeshwar Taluk (west), Bantval Taluk (north) and Suliya Taluk (east). It is not considered part of the Western Ghats
Mulleria is a small town located in Karadka Panchayath, Kasaragod district in Kerala, India.