Thaniyavarthanam

Balan Master, a school drawing teacher in Government service, enjoys a serene life in a traditional Nair joint family in a rural Kerala village. He shares a home with his wife, two children, his mother, a younger brother Gopi, and a younger sister. The family is rooted in routine and mutual care, even as the elder members cling to superstition and orthodox norms.

The family believes that a male from each generation will go mad due to a past sin—the goddess's idol thrown into a well. Sreedharan, Balan's uncle, is locked in a dark room as he is deemed mentally challenged. The karnavar, the senior male, wields power and makes most decisions, reinforcing the family’s superstition.

After the elder uncle dies, villagers wonder which of Balan or Gopi will be next to succumb to madness. The community scans every action for signs of the curse's return. Rumors and fear spread through the village, casting doubt on Balan’s sanity.

One night, Balan experiences a terrifying nightmare that jolts the entire household awake. Elder family members interpret the episode as a sign that Balan is turning mad. News leaks to the village, and the community begins to view his behavior through the lens of inherited lunacy.

The village condemns Balan as mentally ill, interpreting his movements and choices as proof of the curse's persistence. He applies for an extended medical leave and transfers from service as suspicion and stigma mount. His students and some relatives begin to label him a lunatic.

Gopi, progressive and educated, urges Balan to seek a medical opinion. They consult a qualified physician who declares Balan sane. Yet the village refuses to accept this verdict and continues to doubt him.

With suspicion at its peak, Balan's wife is forced to leave the house with their children. The family arranges the marriage of his younger sister, hiding the fact that her elder brother is deemed mentally challenged. The secrecy deepens the stigma and isolates Balan.

Balan is admitted to an asylum for treatment and is broken by the experience. He is released after a few days, but the damage is done—mentally and physically—before being confined once more to the darkroom where his uncle once resided. Society continues to hound him even behind closed doors.

Society hounds him and beats him into subjugation, pressing him to accept a diminished identity. The relentless scrutiny erodes his agency and drives further isolation. The community’s superstition effectively negates his attempts to reclaim normal life.

On the day of the ritual for forgiveness from the goddess, Balan's mother poisons him and ends his life. The act is a final severing of his chance at relief or redemption. She then commits suicide, unable to forgive herself.

Balan's death seals the tragic cycle of superstition and social control. The ritual's violence becomes a grim testament to the village’s fear and orthodoxy. The mother’s suicide compounds the sense of fatal guilt that haunts the family.

The story closes as a stark critique of how fear of curses and the obsession with controlling kin can destroy promising lives. It exposes the cruelty of traditional hierarchies in a Kerala village. Balan's fate lingers as a warning about the cost of oppressive beliefs.