Stories
In the 1980s, Madhavan went through a decade-long period of writer's block, until the release of his story 'Higuita' in 1990. In this work, Madhavan models his protagonist, priest Father Geevarghese, on Higuita, the 1990 FIFA World Cup goalkeeper for Colombia. Higuita's unconventional playing style whereby he would often abandon his goal and try to score goals, occupies the priest's imagination. Likewise, he temporarily abandons his cassock and saves a tribal girl Lucie from the clutches of the trafficker Jabbar. The short story was adjudged the best in hundred years of Malayalam literature. Since then he has published four collections of stories, a novel and one collection of plays. Madhavan's works of short fiction are:
- Chulaimedile Savangal (Corpses of Chulaimed)
- Higuita
- Thiruth (Blue Pencil)
- Paryaya Kathakal (Stories about Names)
- Nilavili (The Cry)
Madhavan's contribution to the short story genre, which is dying in most parts of the world, is reckoned by critics to be unique and noteworthy. As a short-fiction writer, his art gives importance to minute details and exemplifies the manifest skill and compact craft that writing short fiction demands. In Madhavan's works the subtle connections of criss-crossing dialogs and interlacing plots ultimately reveal an integrated narrative continuum.
Read more about this topic: N. S. Madhavan
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