The Shrivelled Roots of Contemporary Society in Malayattoor Ramakrishnan's Verukal

Malayattoor Ramakrishnan was a prominent Malayalam writer, cartoonist, practicing lawyer, a Judicial Magistrate and an IAS officer from Kerala, India. He molded well in all these capacities and carved a niche for himself in the social fabric of the state. As a writer in Malayalam language, he penned short stories, novels and biographical sketches of different personalities in the state. Yanthram, Verukal, Yakshi and Service Story are some of his most famous works. Malayatoor Ramakrishnan, is a venerated icon of contemporary Malayalam literature. Verukal (English Roots) is a Malayalam semi-autobiographical novel written by Malayattoor Ramakrishnan in 1966. It is widely credited as one of his best works. It won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1967. It is a simple book, that talks about the value of relations. It is not just another novel that drives us into nostalgia. Instead the book prompts second thoughts on our priorities. The core idea of this novel is that the roots of humans are in our soil. And we need to flourish upon it. - Writer, Cartoonist, Nostalgia, Relations, Roots.