Pyre by Perumal Murugan

Pyre is a novel by Perumal Murugan that describes a love story within social caste-induced hatred. It was originally published in Tamil in 2013 and subsequently translated into English by Aniruddhan Vasudevan in 2016. The novel was longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2017. It was also selected for the booker Prize longlist 2023.

The Tamil version is dedicated to R. Ilavarasan, a young Dalit man who was discovered dead on a railway track after his inter-caste marriage had brought about violence from his community.

The novel is set in Kattuppati, a remote Tamil Nadu village in Southern India. Kumaresan and Saroja, newly married, arrive by bus to live at Kumaresan's house on a rock in the village. Their marriage is an inter-caste one, performed in secret after they eloped from Saroja's house in Tholur, and Kumaresan believes that no one shall know about Saroja's different caste if they deny it. When they reach their house, Marayi, Kumaresan's mother, curses her ill luck that her son married Saroja. Her dirge attracts the attention of many village residents who flock to the house to see the new bride and tease her about the marriage. They do not believe that a person as fair as Saroja would belong to the same caste as them.