Celebrating silver jubilee of a runaway best-seller

T’puram: “It was Perumbadavam’s simplicity, clarity of knowledge and felicity of expression, that helped him to portray the life and times of Russian author Dostoyevsky in ‘

Oru Sankeerthanam Pole

’,” said Shashi Tharoor.

He was speaking after inaugurating the event, ‘Charu Sankeerthanam’ organised by KPCC Vichar Vibhag to celebrate the silver jubilee of the publication of the novel ‘Oru Sankeerthanam Pole’ by Perumbadavam Sreedharan which is among the most sold novels in Malayalam.

As a part of the event Tharoor felicitated the author of the novel Perumpadavam Sreedharan and the publisher Ashraamam Bhasi (Sankeerthana Publications) and presented mementoes to them. Artist Kattoor Narayana Pillai presided over the event. Senior Congress leader Palode Ravi, film director R S Vimal, Nava Kerala Mission coordinator Cherian Philip and literary critic Bettimol Mathew spoke on the occasion.

The novel, first published in 1993, which depicted a period in the life of legendary Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky and his love affair with Anna, became an instant success.

The book created a publishing history of sorts in Malayalam by becoming the first novel to come out with 100 editions and sell more than three lakh copies in a short span of time. tnn