The Adhikarathil family had a distinguished history. It prospered both in terms of wealth and eminence, acquiring the status of royalty in Malabar, Kerala, until the birth of a child named Eranimos shocked everyone. Unlike his fair-skinned, Christian forebears, Eranimos was born dark-skinned, leading to controversial conjectures about his lineage.

Blackened tells the story of its protagonist’s quest to discover the truth behind his dark skin and caste identity. But weaved into this personal tale are multiple layers of Kerala’s social and political histories—its caste conflicts, its massive waves of conversion and migration, its clashing belief systems, and its rural and urban divide.

Originally published as Karikkottakkary in Malayalam, Blackened is an impactful bildungsroman that covers the arc of a conflicted life, and shows us how family histories are tied into the larger historical currents that form communities and shape destinies.

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