Anand (P.Sachidanandan), 1936-

Select page numbers to listen or LCCN to display the bibliographic record. These recordings were made in the field and audio quality may vary.

Readings:

1. Vitum Tatavum (kathakal).
   Trishur: Current Books, 1999.
   (LCCN: 80905204, LC has different edition)
   • "Gangayile palam"
     Realmedia excerpt: pp. 96-102
     MP3 excerpt: pp. 96-102

2. Marubhumikal untakunnat noval. Kottayam: DC Books, 2000
   (LCCN: 91902367, LC has different edition)

   • "Chapter 26"
     Realmedia excerpt: pp. 116-119
     MP3 excerpt: pp. 116-119

3. Govardhante yatrakal noval. Kottayam: DC Books, 2000
   (LCCN: 96904306, LC has different edition)

   • "Chapter 97"
     Realmedia excerpt: pp. 243
     MP3 excerpt: pp. 243

Anand (P.Sachidanandan), born in 1936 in Irinjalakuda in Trichur district in Kerala is an eminent Malayalam fiction writer and essayist, whose fiction reads almost like texts of high philosophy. His works do not conform exactly to any of the fictional forms currently in vogue. Anand has consistently tried to explore in his fiction fundamental issues of power, justice and the human condition. A major recurring theme in most of Anand's works is the way power and its various abusive manifestations inflict torturous pain and suffering on common people. The process of people coming to terms with this suffering over and over again appears in his works as an historical pattern. Some of his works betray a Kafkaesque streak. His works also demonstrate a deep sense of history, using not only personalities and events from the past, but also reflecting continuously on the lessons that the past teaches us. While denouncing the abuse of power, Anand does not advocate the overthrow of the institutions of power, for instance the state. He strikes a middle path that argues for more sensitization and conscientization of the institutions of power. A radical humanist, inspired by the ideas of M. N. Roy in his early years, Anand is ill at ease with all varieties of absolutist tendencies.

He has received many awards including the Sahitya Akademi Award and Vaylar Award.

The Library of Congress has in its collection nineteen works by and on him.