''Meesa'' ( en, Moustache, italic=yes) is the debut novel of Malayalam writer

S. Hareesh S. Hareesh (born 1975) is an Indian writer, translator and screenwriter of Malayalam literature and cinema. He is best known for his short stories and his acclaimed but controversial debut novel, Meesha, which explores caste in Kerala in the ...

. It was serialised in parts by the '' Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly'' and published in its entirety by

DC Books DC Books is a publisher in Kerala publisher of books in Malayalam, and one of the publishers in India . It also operates one of the largest book store chains in India, with a network of over 45 bookshops under the DC Books and Current Books b ...

. Due to protests from Hindu organisations, the serialisation was cancelled after the third part. The novel was translated into English by

Jayasree Kalathil Jayasree Kalathil is an Indian writer, translator, mental health researcher and activist. She is known for her work in the area of mental health activism as well as for her translations of Malayalam works, ''The Diary of a Malayali Madman'' and ' ...

under the title ''Moustache''.

Award

The English translation of the book, ''Moustache'', won the

JCB Prize for literature JCB Prize for Literature is an Indian literary award established in 2018. It is awarded annually with prize to a distinguished work of fiction by an Indian writer working in English or translated fiction by an Indian writer. The winners will be an ...

in 2020. The novel won the 2019 Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel, which was announced in February 2021.

Withdrawal

In a section of the novel, a certain character suggests that Hindu women bathe and wear good clothes before going to a temple because they are interested in sex. He goes on to state that women do not go to the temple whilst menstruating because they cannot have sex. These extracts, which were shared on social media, resulted in widespread criticism by Hindu organisations such as Yogakshema Sabha, BJP,

Hindu Aikya Vedi The Hindu Aikya Vedi (HAV), Aikya Hindu Vedika, or Hindu United Front is a Hindu nationalist organisation in the state of Kerala, India. History The first chairman of HAV was Swami Sathyananda Saraswathi. The first President of HAV was J.Sisupa ...

, N.S.S. After this, the writer withdrew the serialisation of the novel from '' Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly''.

In Court

A plea to ban the book was made to the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

by N Radhakrishnan, a resident of Delhi. The court refused to ban the novel and stated that the culture of banning books impacts the free flow of ideas.

References

External links

''Meesa''
on the

website 2018 debut novels DC Books books Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award-winning works Malayalam novels

Award

Withdrawal

In Court

References

Further reading

External links