On a River's Bank is a story of ordinary people through an extraordinary narrative. In what must be a rare and sensitive portrayal of an ugly female character, the author underlines that violation of the river leaves it ugly and invites retribution despite worship.
Published originally in 1974 in Tamil, Punalum Manalum is a path-breaking novel raising the issue of environmental degradation through over-exploitation, long before this became a topic of discussion in India. An early example of what is now known as 'ecofiction'.
About the Author
A. MADHAVAN was born in 1934 in Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram), Kerala, to Chellammal and Avudainayagam, who belonged to Kanyakumari district.
Madhavan won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2015 for Ilakkiyach Chuvadugal (Traces of Literature).
M. VIJAYALAKSHMI has translated Thoppil's Oru Kadalora Kiramathin Kathai (The Story of a Seaside Village).