“Mash” – Oru COVID Kala Kadha

Description

Mash – Oru Covid Kala Kada’ is my first book written during the period of lockdown life due to the pandemic situation that arose in India as well as the whole Continent. ‘Mash’, is a Malayalam word which means ‘teacher’ .The whole narrative is based in a fictitious village called ‘Perigathur’, situated in the northern part of Kerala, where the seeds of Communist ideology had been embedded for centuries and had flourished over the years. The plot of the novel revolves around a retired teacher Raman Pillai and the people of the panchayath who are taken unawares by the pandamic. The people of the village read about the virus and the devastation it has caused in the Wuhan province of China. But it never does occur to them that the deadly virus Covid-19 would cross borders. They treat the news as a tragedy that has befallen the neighbouring country and the whole world. People of this panchayath believed that the Himalayan Ranges and Deccan Plateau would serve as the barriers to prevent the virus from entering our country. Above all, they were assured that as their village was nestled in the lap of ‘Gods Own Country’ they never would have to worry. The plot of the novel takes a shift when a medical student from Wuhan comes back home . Unfortunately, the girl is infected with this virus and is admitted in a medical college. This news spreads throughout the news papers all over Kerala and the people and the government panic .The government, police and health workers join together and fight to bring the virus under control but the situation worsens. As the fear of the virus grips the people of his village our protagonist, Raman Pillai faces the dilemma of holding the fort together.The story then progress detailing the psychological and emotional upheaval that the people of Peringathur experience. The entire novel develops with a series of incidents that happen in the lives of the people of this panchayath following the spread of this deadly virus.The protagonist, Raman Pillai Mash involves in social work helping the infected people and calming the fear of others. But unfortunately he too contacts the deadly virus.The rest of the story is a heartbreaking account of what follows.