Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Completing her beloved's novel

Seethalekshmi Dev

Twenty-two years after the demise of novelist P. Kesavadev, his widow, Seethalekshmi Dev, has completed the novel, `Paticha Kallanmar,' which Dev left incomplete with just four chapters about 28 years ago.

Keralites remember Dev for his outstanding works such as `Odayil Ninnu,' which were a rage among the Malayalis. Dev wrote the first four chapters of `Paticha Kallanmar' 28 years ago, but he could not complete it due to ill-health.

After the death of Dev, Seethalekshmi approached many litterateurs with a request to complete the novel. But they refused to take up the task on the premise that they were not familiar with the style of Dev. When their son Jyothi Dev left for the United States for higher studies, Sethalekshmi was left alone and then she took to writing to overcome the solitude in life. Her first novel was `Neermizhi Pookkal' and then came another novel, `Aaradhika.'

While working on these two novels, she read and studied `Paticha Kallanmar' and later completed the novel with 26 chapters. The novel was set on the background of North Paravur, the native place of Dev. Before getting down on the work, Seethalekshmi stayed in North Paravur for a week to capture the mood of the story. Dev was trying to etch the plight of four educated unemployed youth.

The protagonist of the novel, Chandran, has almost all the characteristics of Dev. The fate of the educated unemployed has been depicted in the novel. While incorporating the changes in society over the years, Seethalekshmi says she has also tried to sustain the mood of the theme.

N.J. NAIR

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