indiascribe satire

D uring the past seven days, i t was as if I had been transported in a time capsule to Malabar in 1921 witnessing the Moplah rebellion sweep across the land like the Chaliar River in spate uprooting everything in its path including the Anangapara, the huge rock standing tall midstream that centuries of floods failed to move an inch. Yes, Anjana Varma's novel, ' Beneath the Devil Tree Malabar 1921,' proved to be quite a rollercoaster ride in the company of some interesting characters, moments of absolute panic and last-minute escapes. Women's Power to the Fore Of all the characters in this novel, the women stand out. Mathu, the matriarch of Nilambur Kovilakam, t her granddaughter Sethu along with her friend Priyamvada to the resourceful tribal girl Cheenkanni not to forget Benazir Biwi, Razia and Kunhaishumma, the Pathiri seller, all play key roles at various points. For those of us familiar with living in a matrilineal joint family in Kerala, Mathu would seem to be our