M. MUKUNDAN is one of the most successful modernist authors in Malayalam literature. He has acquired a considerable following among the literati and the general populace of Kerala, a small state of palm trees, trading ports, and paddy fields in southwestern India. Mukundan is best known for his compelling descriptions of life in the culturally heterogenoeous small former French colony called Mahe in present-day Kerala. His most beloved works are his novels—On the Banks of the Mayyazhi River, God’s Mischief, and The Lamentations of Kesavan. But for experiments with language, images, and style, Malayalam literature is indebted to Mukundan’s short stories. Donald R. DAVIS Jr. is Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

M. MUKUNDAN is one of the most successful modernist authors in Malayalam literature. He has acquired a considerable following among the literati and the general populace of Kerala, a small state of palm trees, trading ports, and paddy fields in southwestern India. Mukundan is best known for his compelling descriptions of life in the culturally heterogenoeous small former French colony called Mahe in present-day Kerala. His most beloved works are his novels—On the Banks of the Mayyazhi River, God’s Mischief, and The Lamentations of Kesavan. But for experiments with language, images, and style, Malayalam literature is indebted to Mukundan’s short stories. Donald R. DAVIS Jr. is Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

M. MUKUNDAN is one of the most successful modernist authors in Malayalam literature. He has acquired a considerable following among the literati and the general populace of Kerala, a small state of palm trees, trading ports, and paddy fields in southwestern India. Mukundan is best known for his compelling descriptions of life in the culturally heterogenoeous small former French colony called Mahe in present-day Kerala. His most beloved works are his novels—On the Banks of the Mayyazhi River, God’s Mischief, and The Lamentations of Kesavan. But for experiments with language, images, and style, Malayalam literature is indebted to Mukundan’s short stories. Donald R. DAVIS Jr. is Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.