On Kerala’s vibrant literary stage, few genres ignite the imagination as potently as historical fiction. In this hallowed tradition, Sreekumari Ramachandran offers us The Saga of Cheraman—a lyrical reimagining of the region’s storied past, woven from threads of legend, folklore, and collective cultural memory. This is not merely a novel; it is a tribute to a bygone age, a homage to a legacy, and a love letter to the people who shaped the very soul of this ancient land.

“Fiction,” Albert Camus had famously observed, “is the lie through which we tell the truth.” The “truth” at the heart of the enigmatic tale of Cheraman Perumal, the last of the legendary Chera monarchs, is elusive. History offers us only fragments: was his departure from Kerala an exile, a spiritual awakening, a conversion, or an abdication? Legend suggests he went off to meet the Prophet himself; Muslims aver that he did, and converted to Islam. Historians say there is no proof of any of this. Yet there are, south of Salalah in Oman, Kerala coconut trees growing that are not native to the Arabian peninsula; it is entirely plausible that they are evidence of Cheraman Perumal’s successful crossing to those shores. The possibilities are intriguing, and could make for fascinating fiction.

Ramachandran, however, is less concerned with fact than with emotional and cultural veracity. Her narrative does not purport to reveal what........

© Mathrubhumi English