Incantations over Water

by Sharanya Manivannan · 2021

On full moon nights, from deep within the lagoons of Mattakalappu, Ilankai, mysterious sounds emerge. During the three decades of civil war, it is said, those sounds had ceased. The mermaid Ila, who has lived in those waters for a long, long time, speaks and sings about her world (and the worlds of mermaids everywhere). Her stories weave together cultural history, eco-consciousness, political reality and personal longing – and always, the magical.