Vaitarani: The river that lies between the earth and the infernal naraka, the realm of Yama, the Hindu god of death, and is believed to purify one’s sins. While the righteous see it filled with nectar-like water, the sinful see it filled with blood.
Vidyarambham: A Hindu tradition observed on Vijayadashami day in Kerala, where children are formally introduced to the learning of music, dance, languages and other folk arts.
Vishu: The new year Hindu festival celebrated in Kerala; it falls in the middle of April.
Vishukani: The word is derived from “that which is seen first on Vishu”. The traditional belief is that the new year will be better if one views auspicious, joyful things as the first thing on the morning of Vishu, the New Year. Therefore, Malayali Hindu women spend the day before Vishu preparing a setting, usually a tray, of auspicious items. This setting is the first thing they see when they wake up on the Vishu day. The tradition has been that one of the members of the house, typically the mother or an elderly person, lights up the lamps at dawn, then goes to each member of her family one by one, covers their eyes with hands, wakes each one up and guides them to the front of the setting. She then takes off the hands so the setting is the very first thing that the person sees, thus greeting the Vishu day auspiciously for a prosperous year ahead.
Acknowledgements
This work would not have been possible without the support of my wonderful readers, Jessy Skaria (translator), Ajayan (cover designer) and Dipti Patel (literary agent) of WordFamous.
Thank you, my family and friends, for nurturing the wings of my imagination.
About the Author
SHAJI MADATHIL
Senior software engineer at Qatar Airways, Shaji holds Master’s Degrees in Commerce, History, Business Management, and Computer Science. He is the son of Madathil M Narayanan and N K Bhargavi, and the nephew of renowned Indian artist M V Devan. Shaji’s wife Sandhya Vijayan and his son is, Akash.
The Soul of Truth is the English translation of Shaji’s debut Malayalam novel, “Pathirapaatille Thennilapakshikal”. The Malayalam book was cited in the LIMCA Book of Records for the first 3D cover in Indian fiction. The book was well received and Shaji donated the entirety of his royalties from the book sales for the treatment of cancer patients
More info at his website: http://www.madathilshaji.com He can be contacted at [email protected].
Dr Jessy Skaria
A physician from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Jessy now lives in Texas, United States, with her husband, Verghese, and their three children, Namrata, Apoorva, and Gaurav. This book marks her first major foray into translation. When she’s not translating, Jessy is an amateur gardener, avid reader, and enthusiastic social media activist.
She can be contacted at [email protected]
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