‘Jamanthipookkal…’ represents a whole era of reading and writing: Ashtamoorthi at MBIFL 2026

A discussion titled 'Jamanthipookkal; Neendakadhayude Kadha', held at the House of Books venue at the 7th edition of the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL), examined the life and legacy of Malayalam’s long-form serial fiction.

Setting the context, novelist OS Priyadarsanan, who moderated the session, pointed out that while most festival discussions focus on books yet to appear, this session explored a work already moving towards publication. He reflected on renowned novelist, Ashtamoorthi KV’s five-decade presence in Malayalam literature, recalling that his debut novel 'Rehearsal Camp' had won the Kumkumam Award and that his writing journey continued steadily through stories, memoirs and social research.

Speaking about his forthcoming novel ‘Jamanthipookkal; Neendakadhayude Kadha’, which will be published by Mathrubhumi Books in the coming months, Ashtamoorthi said the title itself carried layered meanings. "It is not just a name; it represents a whole era of reading and writing that shaped popular imagination,” he observed.

The novel, he explained, revisits the world of serialized fiction that flourished between the 1950s to the 1990s.

The discussion highlighted how weekly magazines once dominated reading habits of typical Malayalis.

"There were at least seventeen such publications, and some sold in lakhs," Priyadarsanan noted, adding that titles like Mangalam created a vast and committed readership. He described Kottayam as a hub where writers, editors and printing presses thrived together as part of a major cultural industry.

However, Ashtamoorthi also delved into the reasons behind the decline of this ecosystem.

"Television serials gradually replaced reading because they demanded less effort and no financial investment," he said.

While speaking about the relentless pressure on writers to deliver instalments within tight deadlines, the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award-winning author highlighted how "writing became mechanical -- almost like producing soap operas -- and quality inevitably suffered.”

Yet, the session resisted easy nostalgia. Ashtamoorthi stressed that many serial novels were written in refined Malayalam and backed by careful research. "Even under pressure, there was discipline, linguistic beauty and commitment to readers," he remarked, noting that old weekly scripts and archives were extensively studied while working on 'Jamanthipookkal; Neendakadhayude Kadha'.

As the discussion concluded, it became clear that "Jamanthipookkal; Neendakadhayude Kadha is not merely a novel in the making, but a meditation on a disappearing reading culture -- one that once connected language, labour and collective memory in Malayalam literature".