Mobile phones, which have become an integral part of Indian life, are ushering in many changes in their lifestyle. The latest trend is an attempt at mobile fiction that has already attracted a considerable lot in some countries. In social life we are very much ready to express our feelings like love and revenge by the help of electronic devices like computer and mobile phone. It shows our society is changed a lot on its resources and conceptions. Then, no doubt, the way through which art and literature communicate may also be changed according to the existing life style. Phone novel is a real outcome of current cultural scene.

Phone novel is the fiction that can only be read on cell phones. SMS, E-mail and Java application are the main ways to give form to a phone novel. Java application gives the most compact design in these methods. The first phone novel was published in 2004 in Japan, titled ‘Deep Love’ written by Yoshi. Later, phone novels caught on in Korea, China and Switzerland. Phone novels are also called Mobile novels, Cell phone novels and Mobile fiction. In November 2004 an attempt was made in India by a man called Ro Gue to create a SMS novel-Cloak Room- in English by sending 16 SMS to customers. But the attempt was stopped without a real ending.

The first phone novel to be released in any Indian language is Neelakkannukal (Blue Eyes) written & presented by P.R.Harikumar, a lecturer in Malayalam, Sree Sankara College, Kalady. The size of the novel with all its six chapters is 70KB. This is embedded in a screen as a Java Application. Any Java enabled mobile phone is qualified enough for reading this Malayalam novel in its small screen. No other program or font is needed for the purpose. The story depicted in this novel-Neelakkannukal-is about a lady teacher who travels in wrong ways due to her ill-fated life conditions. The mental agony she feels due to the same is beautifully pictured in the novel. To give chance to experience the nature of his works, he has already distributed 600 copies of this phone novel free of cost among the Malayalam readers worldwide. The novel was well received worldwide by the Malayalam community.

Earlier, Harikumar has made the mobile editions of Adhyatma Ramayanam in Malayalam (340 KB in size) and Thirukkural in Tamil (110 Kb in size). Both of them made headlines in the media.

Download Neelakannukal