Short story writer and novelist, contemporary of OV Vijayan, Kakkanadan, Sethu, Anand and Punathil Kunhabdulla, M Mukundan's conjures up the tale of love, frustration, and decay in the tiny French enclave of Mayyazhi (Mahe) on the coast of Kerala.

His writings have always been deeply rooted in Mahe and its environs, its churches, seashores, festivals, legends and myths, buildings and architecture, and above all the people.

His first novel Delhi, published in 1969, was extraordinary. It was a deviation from the existing genre of novels, a trendsetter in many ways. It became a literary event and the influence it had on contemporary writers and readership was enormous.

Critics accused him of alien influences, especially from French literature, because of the existentialist undertones in the novel and the tones of cubism in the narration. It was a bold experiment in style and form.

The futility of quests and the frustrations they create tempts his characters to deny all the existing values. In those days, there were debates and discussions on crisis of identity, disillusionment, and frustration and a sense of alienation. They were termed foreign and extraneous to regional literature.

His magnum opus, Mayyazhi Puzhayute Theerangalil (In the banks of Mayyazhi) is like a miniature painting full of minute details that are lucid and succeed in telling a very human story. The grand old grandmother, Kurambi Amma, is the main thread that runs through the entire novel, setting the tone to the story, making the reader participate in the lives of the various people who are affected by the historical developments of Mayyazhi.

Some of his best known novels are Deivathinte Vikrithikal (Games Gods Play), Haridvaril Manikal Muzhangunnu (The Bells are Tolling in Haridwar), Mayyazhi Puzhayute Theerangalil, Delhi and Kesavante Vilapanghal.

Mukundan is currently working in the cultural department of the French Embassy at New Delhi.