Beneath the Devil Tree: Malabar 1921 by Anjana Varma

Something bitter and choppy is bubbling beneath the surface. The Matriarch senses this and it is what she most dreads. The volcano of human emotion that has been hitherto somewhat dormant is in danger of a violent eruption. The searing lava of hatred and revenge would flow out and all that remains would be the burnt out ashes of sorrow, loss, and suffering. The Matriarch fears for her loved ones and worries about the fate of the land. Ernad, Malabar 1921. The Khilafat movement has found a firm footing and has succeeded in inciting the pride of the essentially poor and downtrodden Mappila community. The oppression meted out by the Hindu landlords and the injustice of the British government’s land reforms would no longer be tolerated, the newly formed Congress Khilafat Alliance was determined. But reality is a strange aberration. The Sixth Tirumulpad, a haughty landlord, Alijan Sahib, the local Khilafat kingpin, Mammad, the young secretary, Stanley-Pat Eaton the rich planter are all caught plumb in the middle of what follows. Apart from the Matriarch herself, Benu, Sethu, Priya, Razia, Winefred Eaton, and the tribal lass, Cheenkanni all find themselves staggering as things take a turn for the worse.