MANU BHATTATHIRI is a Keralite settled in Bengaluru. He has worked as an advertising copywriter, a journalist, and a college lecturer. He co-owns a small advertising agency. He is the author of The Town That Laughed: A Novel and Savithri’s Special Room and Other Stories, both set in the fictional town of Karuthupuzha.
THE ORACLE OF KARUTHUPUZHA: A NOVEL by Manu BhattathiriManu Bhattathiri revisits the delightful world of Karuthupuzha with a new cast of memorable characters
ABOUT THE BOOK
With two cows and four mouths to feed, Nareshan can barely make ends meet selling milk to the inhabitants of Karuthupuzha. That is, until his daughter, Sarasu, is possessed by the demon-god, Chaathan. Now, the faithful from all over Karuthupuzha and beyond visit Nareshan with money and gifts to receive Chaathan’s blessings. The sceptics of the town, meanwhile, believe that Nareshan is fooling everyone to make money. However, when one of the leading sceptics in town, Dasappan, member of the Communist Party, rationalist and atheist, loses his mind after loudly proclaiming that Chaathan is a farce, the people’s belief in a divine power residing in Sarasu is reinforced.With the number of faithful only growing as each day passes, Nareshan realizes that his daughter’s possession might be the best thing to have happened to him. When the rich widow Ponnamma comes to his house to seek help from Chaathan for her son, Nanu, the fate of Nareshan and his family is set to change forever.
In The Oracle of Karuthupuzha, Manu Bhattathiri revisits the town of Karuthupuzha that was immortalized in The Town That Laughed and Savithri’s Special Room and Other Stories.
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In conversation with Manu Bhattathiri on Creating Worlds with Words at OCLF 2021
On 28th Nov 12.00 pm - 12.40 pm
Author Manu Bhattathiri talked about Creating Worlds with Words at OCLF 2021. The author talked about his writing journey from short stories to fiction and eventually to longer full-fledged novels. He talked about the imaginary place "Khartukda" somewhere in Kerala and let out a hearty laugh when asked if he wanted to retire to that place. He talked about how everything around him and everyday words triggers him to create a character, plot, or anything that can work in a story. He then sets the character in the Khartukda setting and molds it into his character. It makes him a part of the story and helps him get more ideas. The art of borrowing characters from the people around you, from the people you've known and from the people you've just heard of. Author Manu Bhattathiri took an amazing session at OCLF 2021and greatly elaborated on character formation, the journey of writing and creating infinite worlds with words!