Vishaadarashmikal (Sparks of Melancholy- Malayalam)

Vishaadarashmikal is a poetry collection by the Malayalam poet Manu Mangattu listing 27 poems . The anthology documents the poets tryst with maladies and madness melancholy and sadness in a lucid and richly evocative poetic style. An ardent disciple of the Malayalam Romantic poetry tradition Manu Mangattu through the anthology pays rich tribute to Changampuzha Krishna Pillai and Edappally Raghavan Pillai the Keats and Shelley of Malayalam poetry. The brooding melancholy that envelops much of the anthology is a testimony to the Romantic convictions and predilections of the poet. Neither is the poet averse to experimentations and innovations as is evidenced by some of the last poems in the anthology. Sachinaanandam a long narrative poem on Sachin Tendulkar deserves special mention in this regard.