Khasakkinte Ithihasam

Khasakkinte Itihasam is a path-breaking Malayalam novel written by the Indian writer O. V. Vijayan. First published in 1969 and generally referred to Khasak in literary circles, the book is regarded as the most popular and largest selling novel in South Asia. Ravi, a student of astrophysics and a great visionary, is a teacher in an informal education centre in Khasak. The novel is about Ravi's journey, which starts at Swami Bodhananda's ashram. When the bus stops at the last stop at Kooman Kavu, he gets down. He does not feel that he is coming there for the first time. The novel ends when Ravi's temporary stop at Kooman Kavu ends, and he is waiting for the bus to come. It is raining and there is a smile on his face. He provokes a snake to bite his feet, and slowly begins his next journey to other realm. What a journey it was for Ravi and many, many young men and women who also travelled with him searching for their 'selves'. It was through the journey Ravi undertook that he got answers to many of the questions that cropped up in his adolescent mind. Vijayan needed only that one book, Khasakinte Ithihasam, to make him a legend in Malayalam literature. It was read and re-read by people, printed and re-printed several times; it has sold the maximum number of copies ever, and has been discussed at many forums. And still, the reader finds a new dimension to it every time he/she reads it.