The Legends of Khasak

The Legends Of Khasak is a literary masterpiece about a young man named Ravi, who wanders into a remote village called Khasak in Kerala. This novel covers the boy s experiences in the new place, and also brings to light his existential crisis.

The Legends Of Khasak revolves around an under-graduate dropout named Ravi, who has had an illicit affair. Overcome with guilt, the young man leaves behind a research offer from Princeton University, and goes off on a long pilgrimage. Ravi finds himself in Khasak, a remote village in the beautiful Palghat countryside of Kerala. His guilt and anguish make him go through an existential crisis as well.

In this new place, Ravi sets up a makeshift school with the help of the District Board s education initiative. The elders in the village see him as a threat, and doubt his intentions. The Legends Of Khasak describes Ravi s interaction with the villagers, as well as with the students of his school. Through these encounters, the author showcases many superstitions and myths that exist in this part of the world. The protagonist also realizes that karma follows a person, no matter where he goes.

The Legends Of Khasak was originally published in 1969, and was named Khasakkinte Itihasam. It took the author twelve years to complete this path-breaking Malayalam novel. In 1970, Vijayan won the Odakkuzhal Award for this book. Khasakkinte Itihasam has seen fifty reprints in the last four decades. It is the highest selling novel in South Asia. It was translated into English in 1994 by the author himself.