Is Malabar magical, with its theyyams (folk dances with mystical connotations) and odiyans (shape-shifting wizards)?
We didn’t actually have theyyams in Palakkad, but certainly there were odiyans who, it was believed widely, could cast spells on you. I hate to even bring this up, because it is sort of the kiss of death, but have you been influenced by Latin American magical realism? I wrote the surreal story of Appukkili (the retarded man in Khasak) in 1958, long before Gabriel Garcia Marquez was even published in English, which was in 1975. People have the tendency to suggest derivative work, so it makes writers defensive when you make such statements. In reading your short stories, occasionally with the English and Malayalam versions side by side, I have sometimes thought they were actually better in English. I am not sure they are better in English — wouldn’t you miss something of the background? Perhaps since you are already familiar with Kerala’s cultural background, you find the English version appealing. It might be less so for others from outside the culture. Are any of your books being made
