Author: Shridhar Balagar Translator: Krishna Murthy Chandar

Aadukala is an exceptional work that documents tribulations, tragedies, and the movement of history in a small town. It gives expression, at the experiential level, to the fundamental truth that the differences in the living patterns of larger cities and smaller provincial places may exist in political and economic terms rather than in human consciousness.
This novel gradually unfolds the conflicts between brothers and cousins over ownership of land, showing how such conflicts can destroy the human spirit. It is a narrative of the mechanizations of individuals that result in tragedy. The novel enables readers to experience the subtle narrative and technique of the moving world, layer by layer, without any emotional intensity or a leisurely pace, almost like the ‘alap’ in the enunciation of a Raga in classical music.
Aadukala records, with tremendous intensity, the fact that not merely the daily routine events but also those considered exceptional or otherworldly are illusions created by human emotions and consciousness.