CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY AND THE PRODUCTION OF PLACE IN O.V VIJAYAN'S THE LEGENDS OF KHASAK

Cultural geography understands “place” as a space filled with human meanings, memories, and identities. Place-making occurs when people give meaning to a space by setting boundaries and shaping what happens within it through visible or invisible social rules. This paper explores the idea of “place” through the lens of cultural geography in O. V. Vijayan’s The Legends of Khasak. The village of Khasak can be seen as more than just a setting; it becomes a living cultural landscape where geography and human identity are deeply connected. The study focuses on how the village carries the “traces” -the material and non-material residues, such as buildings, activities, and emotions that connect cultural groups to their physical environment. Together, these traces connect the community to the land and show how different cultural groups shape their surroundings over time. As new experiences are added, these traces continue to layer upon older histories, keeping the village in a constant state of change. The landscape of Khasak also reflects relations of power and control. The close connection between the villagers’ occupations and the natural environment shows how the land helps shape their sense of identity and stability. Drawing on feminist geography, the paper also examines how myths and local beliefs sometimes use the natural environment to regulate women’s behaviour, turning the landscape into a subtle tool of patriarchal control. Ultimately, the study argues that to understand Khasak’s social and spiritual life, the land must be read as carefully as the people who inhabit it.