M Mukundan
Mukundan is one of the most reputed fiction writers in Kerala today. He pioneered modernity in Malayalam fiction. Author of over forty books comprising novels, collections of short stories, a play and a study on modernity, his best-selling books include On the banks of the Mayyazhi, God’s Mischief, Kesavan’s lamentations, Pravasam, Delhi Gathakal and Choyi the Umbrella Repairer. He made his literary debut in the early sixties, publishing short stories in the prestigious Mathrubhumi weekly.
In 1989, Mukundan won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Daivathinte Vikruthikal (God’s Mischief). Four of his novels were made into feature films, God’s Mischief winning the State Award for the best film. His stories and novels have been widely translated into various Indian languages, English and French : On the Banks of the Mayyazhi (Manas, Chennai, and DC Books), Gods Mischief (Penguin India), The train that had wings – Selected stories (Michigen University Press, USA) and Sur les rives du fleuve de Mahe (Actes Sud, Paris). His novel, Delhi: A Soliloquy (Translated from the Malayalam by Fathima EV and Nandakumar K) won the prestigious JCB Prize for Literature 2021.