Agni

Agni in Sanskrit means fire. It analyzes the various dimensions of the love-violence equation. The process of transformation of love into violence is portrayed. Man gets attached to anything he happens to be fond of. Attachment ripens into love. Love often results in the desire for exclusive possession. This if blocked or denied generates anger and violence. The first casualty of violence is the personality of the one going violent. Though the novelette tells a certain story that takes place in a remote village and amidst a certain community of special nativity, it is an all-time book of universal relevance written in a style deceptively simple.

Agni was written in 1963 in the Malayalam language, and published in the same year. After twenty-five impressions and serving as textbook for several university courses, it continues to be widely read and discussed. It now forms part of a collection of novelettes by the author, Mrityor Ma (in Malayalam). The author has trans-created it for world readership.

Agni was filmed in 1973, the author himself screen-playing and directing it. (Now a part of the Indian Panorama of Feature Films, it was screened at major international film festivals including Mannheim, Istanbul, Moscow and Locarno.

Dettagli