 | |
| Author | M. Mukundan |
|---|---|
| Original title | Daivathinte Vikrithikal |
| Translator | Prema Jayakumar |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Penguin Books India,DC Books |
Publication date | 13 December 1989 (1989-12-13) |
| Publication place | India |
Published in English | 30 October 2002 (2002-10-30) |
| Pages | 254 |
| Awards | Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award N. V. Prize |
God's Mischief (Malayalam:ദൈവത്തിന്റെ വികൃതികള്,Daivathinte Vikrithikal) is a 1989Malayalam novel written byM. Mukundan. Like most of Mukundan's works, this novel too is based in Mayyazhi, better known once asMahé, the French colony after it was decolonised.[1][2][3] The story centres on a magician, Father Alfonso, his daughter, Elsee and an Ayurveda Vaidyar Kumaran and his two twin sons and how their life changes after the land is decolonised. The novel won theKendra Sahitya Akademi Award and the N. V. Prize. It was adapted into afilm by noted directorLenin Rajendran in 1992.
The story begins in 1950s, when the French, the colonial rulers were packing off fromMahé, a coastal town in NorthMalabar, after 230 years, leaving behind remnants of a cultural history. Those, who considered themselves as belonging to Francophone culture, jumped onto the first available vessel toFrance. And many of the older generation, orphaned by the departure of the French, struggle to eke out a living even as they remember their days of plenty under their foreign masters. Caught up in their suffering, Kumaran Vaidyar does everything he can to keep the people of his beloved Mayyazhi from starving, but entrusts his own children to the care of his wife, who is no more. Meanwhile, Father Alphonse waves his magic wand and changes pebbles into candy and waits for his good-looking son to return. Through all this, untroubled by the woes of the elders, Shivan, Shashi and Elsie spend an idyllic childhood in sunny, sleepy Mayyazhi. Until the day of reckoning catches up with them and they pay the price of growing up.[4]
The English translation of the book by Prema Jayakumar was released byPenguin Books India on 30 October 2013.[2]India Today wrote: "The translation is brilliant, losing none of the linguistic subtleties of prose and colour of the original Malayalam. The translator has ensured that the delicacy of interlocking relationships, situations and their nuances have been preserved in all their complexity as the book tsunamis towards its climax."[3] A Bengali translation is also available published by Sahitya Academy translated by Basabi Chakrabarty - 'ভগবানের দুষ্টুমি'
In 1992, afilm adaptation of the novel was released, starringRaghuvaran as Alfonso,Rajan P. Dev as Arupurayil Kadungun,Thilakan as Kumaran Vysyar,Srividya as Maggi,Malavika Avinash as Elsee,Vineeth as Sasi,Sudheesh as Sivan and directed byLenin Rajendran. Mukundan assisted with writing the screenplay and with other production tasks. The film was critically well acclaimed and won theKerala State Film Award for Best Film.
