Everyone knows Unniyarcha and Thumbolarcha. But what about Karumparambil Archa? What about the lower caste women who fought with as much vigour as the Archas without any formal training? Sajeevan Mokeri's Vadakkanpattu Kathakal is all about those lesser-known heroes, heroines and stories from the Vadakkanpattu, the popular ballads of north Kerala. The author of many a book in the children's fiction category, Mr. Mokeri has put down the ballads in prose for the convenience of the new-generation readers.
Mr. Mokeri is a native of the erstwhile Kadathanadu, a princely state in north Malabar, and these ballads were part of his growing up years. When Mr. Mokeri turned to writing, he automatically took an interest in these ballads. His initial books were on Thacholi Othenan, Mathileri Kanni and Kunjuthalu, some of the popular characters from the ballads. The books were published by the Kerala State Institute of Children's Literature. It was upon the institute's demand that he came up with an anthology of 33 stories from the ballads titled Vadakkanpattu Kathakal.
“My biggest challenge was to convert the verse into prose, without losing its charm. I had to resort to using some parts of the verses as they are to keep up the feel,” Mr. Mokeri said.
