First published 1969 by Current Books

Khasakkinte Itihasam is a path-breaking Malayalam novel written by the Indian writer O. V. Vijayan. First published in 1969 and generally referred to as 'Khasak' in literary circles, the novel has been reprinted more than fifty times, making it one of the best-selling novels in South Asia. Ravi, a student of astrophysics and a great visionary, is a teacher in an informal education centre in Khasak. The novel has no story-line per se. It recounts the numerous encounters of Khasak from a spiritual and philosophical frame of mind. Through these encounters, Vijayan narrates numerous stories, myths and superstitions cherished in Khasak. He places them in opposition to the scientific and rational world outside, which is now making inroads into the hamlet through Ravi's single-teacher school. The irony of the interface between these two worlds occupies a substantial space in the novel. Through the myths and stories, Vijayan also explores similar encounters of the past recounted by the people of Khasak, enabling him to have a distinctly unique view of cultural encounters across time and space.