Writer T.P. Rajeevan has said that literature and its marketing has lost their standards and some young writers were pretending to be mentally unstable to market their works. Speaking after releasing the books Manassakshi and Sandhyambaram by Sarasamma Vellathooval in Kozhikode on Saturday, he said her works were inspired by her experiences and not by literature. “Throughout her career, she took care of the injured and had no time to nurture literature. Hence her writing is honest to the core,” he said.
Ms. Sarasamma was a nurse at the Government Mental Health Centre in Kozhikode in the 1980s and retired as nursing superintendent from the Government Medical College Hospital recently. Her debut novel Manassakshi has drawn greatly from her experiences at the mental health centre while Sandhyambaram, an anthology of short stories, has been inspired by her years in the medical field.
Writer Khadeeja Mumtaz, who penned the preface to the novel, said the works were relevant at a time when the State was remembering the contributions of medical professionals during the Nipah infection.