Gopallapurathu Makkal

By Ki. Rajanarayanan
Translated into English as Gopallapuram by Pritham K Chakravarthy

A highway robber murders a pregnant young woman for her jewellery. He is caught and sentenced to death by impalement in Gopallapuram. A community of Telugu speakers migrates to the Tamil country to escape Muslim rule. They transform a barren land, turning it into a fertile, verdant village. A horde of bandits attempts to raid a village but the attempt is foiled by the unarmed, inventive villagers. Winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1991, Ki. Rajanarayanan weaves legend, myth, history and good old-fashioned storytelling in this wonderful contemporary classic.

About the Author
Ki. Rajanarayanan has spent over five decades gathering the most exotic tales of his favorite land, Karisal Kadu—the scorched drought-stricken land in Tamil Nadu. Popularly known as Ki. Ra., he is a powerful storyteller. His short story Mayamaan (1958) is considered the hallmark of the golden age of modern Tamil literature.