The Beginnings - Malayalam

The-Beginnings-by-Nishanth.jpg

Thudakkangal'' - Malayalam (The Beginnings'' - English) is a 2007 graphic novel by New York City based Indian author Nishanth Gopinathan. It is claimed to be the first Malayalam Graphic Novel.

Plot Introduction

The semi-autobiographical story is set in a small rural town in Kerala, India. When the story begins, the author is preparing to start his journey from Kollam to join a newly created Engineering college, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam. The author takes us through his experience in the new college, which had no facilities whatsoever, and then goes on to talk AbOUT the social and political climate in Kerala during that time. Soon, he introduces us to a girl with whom he later falls in love with. The story then takes us through the girl's experience where she is a witness to the [...] of a nun - a case very similar to the infamous Sister Abhaya [...] case that rocked the state during the same time period as the story's timeline.

Main characters

  • Nishanth: A young man of about eighteen, from Kollam, living in Kottayam, Kerala during the first half of the 1990s.
  • Sheena: Nishanth's classmate and girlfriend who witnesses the [...] in a convent where she stays.
  • Fazil: One of the author's friends and his roommate at Kottayam.
  • The Priest: The man who frequents the convent, and is involved in the [...] of the nun and the coverup that follows.