Malayalam literature has seen a dynamic shift in themes, style, and tendencies, especially since the world has walked into a new millennium. The turn of the century witnessed a new trend of exploring the complexities of the social and cultural landscape. Political overtones and intricacies of everyday life have become a new literary space that paved the way for a paradigm shift from the early modern era. The exploration of individual identity within the cultural, social, and political milieu has become a new face of literature from Kerala, as authors delve into diverse aspects of creative praxis by focussing on issues of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and class. They subtly portray the struggles, conflicts, and other multiple nuances of individuals who navigate these dimensions. Through means of interrogation and introspection, contemporary Malayalam writing resonates with readers with a new mode of the 'political'. It is interesting to note that a common thread connecting Malayalam writers of the millennia is a mode of protest against dominance of any kind. Socio-political and cultural dispositions have notably become a collective and holistic reality in the hands of contemporary Malayalam writers. This element in their writing has transformed into propaganda of resistance against gender norms, rigid caste ladder, and various other political hierarchies.

Creative practices in Malayalam thereby got carried forth into the possibilities of cyberspace and linguistic liberation by a new generation of writers who stood for the idea of resistance through art. While the literary tradition of the past was stubbornly rooted for a solidified use of the Malayalam language, the new literature of freedom, especially in poetry, became one of lucidity and transparency. A few writers increasingly break away from conventional narrative structures to explore non-linear and fragmented narration. Contemporary Malayalam literature in the past decade has also gained momentum at a global level through its remarkable translations published by international publishers like Penguin and HarperCollins, making the howl of regional literature heard throughout the world. The idea of inherent cultural rootedness has been emulated with trends and tendencies, especially from Latin American and European fiction. It is promising and redeeming to see that this strong undercurrent in creative writing has become the 'new normal' on a larger scene of contemporary Indian literature.

It could therefore be said that contemporary Malayalam literature has shaped itself into a literary tradition that is influenced by several other literatures on one hand and by recent political discourses of India on the other. For instance, Dalit writing has found its innate space within the cultural as well as literary trends of the age, much like the voice articulated by Sukumaran Chaligadha through his poetry. When S Kalesh and Chitra K P set out on an identity quest through their writings, M R Vishnuprasad explores various human crises and intricate gender relations. Defiance against gender stigma, religious fanaticism, fascist intolerance, and extremism takes manifested forms through the works of writers such as K P Ramanunni, K R Meera, C S Chandrika, S Hareesh, and Indu Menon. D Anilkumar voices the less spoken lives of coastal people, thereby politicising the essentiality of egalitarianism. Dona Mayoora's poetry exhibits an evident stance against caste and racial typification. A similar resistance against class and racial codifications appears as a main motif in the poetry of Kuzhur Wilson. When concepts of national identity escalate on a greater sphere, writers such as Vinoy Thomas and Shyamkrishnan R resist the same by adhering to literature rooted in their culture. Similarly, P M Govindanunni, M R Renukumar, Ammu Deepa, and P T Binu fixate on Kerala imagery, metaphors, and topography in their works. The writings of Ashtamoorthi K V and V M Devadas problematise the mundane realities of everyday life by rereading history to examine its parallel with the contemporary world. The poetry of Reshma C and Jishnu K S knowingly digress into an experimental mode of writing, thereby projecting an antithesis to traditional shackles. Maria Rose in his writing is evidently inspired by the themes and forms of world literature, countering the extant tradition of the mainstream Malayalam literary arena. Contemporary Malayalam literature thereby effectively vouches for the common cause of humanity and has democratised the literary world to a greater extent.

This issue of Muse India carries a translated curation of contemporary Malayalam poems and short fiction, with the names of some writers already mentioned. Translation inarguably fosters a larger audience to absorb the essence of a literary tradition that has surpassed ages of alterations and upheavals. I am thankful to all the translators for their contributions to this curation. It was indeed enriching to have incorporated translations by established writers like Priya K Nair, C S Venkiteswaran, Ra Sh, Binu Karunakaran and many other emerging translators. I had intended this curation of Kerala Writing in Malayalam as an extended project to a previous feature [Issue 111: Kerala Writing in English]. However, due to several constraints, the collection does not encompass the entire spectrum of Malayalam writers in totality. For instance, exceptional writers like Francis Noronha, Unni R, V H Nishad, K Rekha, Shini Lal, Sudheesh Kottembram, S Kannan, Ashokan Marayur, Durga Prasad and many others remain absent, among many. However, these collected writings would hopefully be able to impart the legacy of Malayalam literature. I truly believe that by scattering into a wide array of experimentation—not conforming to a monolithic framework—Malayalam literature voices the unheard, feels the unsaid, and politicises the unsolvable.