സിൻഡിക്കേറ്റ് | Syndicate

by വി കെ എന്‍ | V.K.N.

Genres: Fiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1985

About the author

V.K.N.' or VKN (abbreviated from his full name Vadakkke Koottala Narayanankutty Nair) (6 April 1932 - 25 January 2004) was a pathbreaking and celebrated Malayalam writer, noted mainly for his high-brow satire. Apart from novels, he wrote short stories and political commentaries. A native of Kerala in south India, his works are considered distinctive for their multi-layered humour, trenchant criticism of the socio-political classes and uncanny ability to twist the meanings of words contextually, thus lend a touch of magic to his language (which, at times, was English too).
VKN's works call for an attentive and informed reader who can recognise his allusions and follow his changes in language, where he shifts between English, Hindi, Malayalam and a distinctive variety of Tamil spoken by the Iyer community in Palakkad. In most cases, the use of language other than Malayalam is immediately followed by a translation (in parentheses), but these translations have little do with what they stand for in the original.
Born on 6 April 1932, in Thiruvilwamala in Thrissur district, VKN, after completing his matriculation, joined the Malabar Devaswom Board and worked there for 9 years. Like a good number of modern Malayalam writers like O. V. Vijayan, VKN spent many years in New Delhi (from 1959 to 1969) as an English journalist. The experiences he gained during these years that also coincided with the nascent post-independent India finds a recreation in one of his most heralded work, Pitamahan (The Great Grandfather). He entered Malayalam literature in 1955.
VKN is considered as a genius, for his knowledge in philosophy, history, art, politics, literature (both Indian and Western; ancient and modern), social issues, ethnicity, agriculture, astrology and sport. It merits some acquaintance with his writing style and deep understanding of language and politics to really comprehend and appreciate his wit and insight. Due to this reason, it is near impossible to convey his brilliance in translations and it is very difficult even for those who understand Malayalam to fully grasp his multi-dimensional wizardry.
His humour comes from inverting his own language to expose both the inner workings and shortcomings of our languages as a means of communication. In certain stories/narrations, the characters of the story/narration comment about the author. Malayalam critics have yet to understand him well, and a proper study about his works and style is yet to happen in the language. VKN served as vice-chairperson of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Thrissur. He had also chaired the Kunchan Smarakam at Killikkurussimangalam near Ottappalam.


More Details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._K._N.

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a disappointing read.

A generous 3 🌟 for the efforts to showcase dirty politics and the men behind it.
This is the novel in the collection.
The character Payyan. I feel like he has no personality, no outstanding sides of his character and there's nothing much to talk about.

I wish there was a proper plot and better character presentation. I feel the translation didn't have much to do with my opinion on the book. The dialogues are lifeless, the writing seems quite random and directionless, the characters quite shallow and forgettable and the stories didn't have stories, emotions or anything that would hold memories and attention.

[sreerag c · Rating 4 out of 5]

'ഭൂതം വേറൊരു സന്ദര്‍ഭത്തില്‍ വന്നതാണു വര്‍ത്തമാനം എന്ന്‍ ഒരു ചരിത്രകാരന്‍ പറഞ്ഞിട്ടുണ്ട് '

[Siddhartha · Rating 4 out of 5]

VKN uses the power struggle between the Congress party leadership and their own PM Indira Gandhi as the best backdrop for Payyan to excel and he does it as usual.

VKN has the ability to make history into his-story and mostly uses Payyan to manipulate the situation to his advantage.

[Kandachamy Vijayakumaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no one comparable to VKN. In this novel he wrote as the political drama in the background of Nationalization of Banks years ago, the hero Payyan mentioned that everyone has become a socialist. We, the people, as the owners of the Banks, do not know what the ownership really mean even after half a century. When someone loot the money and abscond to a foreign country, we understand what type of socialism we are in. Payyan said jokingly that nothing can change the system except a complete revolution. Now that revolutionaries are extinct we can expect no change. A heavy dose of laughter as a palliative is also not possible since people like VKV are also extinct.

[Maheswaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

വായിക്കാൻ നല്ല രസമായിരുന്നു. അറിയാത്ത ഒരു കാലഘട്ടത്ത് നടക്കുന്ന കഥ. പക്ഷെ നല്ല രസമായി കഥ നീങ്ങി .

എനിക്ക് മലയാളം വായിക്കാൻ പാട് ആയി തുടങ്ങിയോ എന്നു സംശയിപ്പിക്കുന്ന ഭാഷ ആയിരുന്നു ചില സമയത്ത്.

പക്ഷെ പയ്യൻ അടിപൊളി !