Changing Revered Spaces of Rural Tamil Nadu in Perumal Murugan’s “The Last Sacrifice” and “Magamuni”: A Spatial Analysis

Abstract

The paper examines the transformation and reconfiguration of rural spaces in Tamil Nadu through a close reading of Perumal Murugan’s short stories “The Last Sacrifice” and “Magamuni.” Drawing on Spatial Theory, particularly the theories of critics such as Henri Lefebvre, Robert T. Tally Jr., and Nigel Thrift, the study examines how Murugan portrays rural space as a site of tension between continuity and disruption. The paper also analyses how religious practices and ritualistic beliefs can seep into secular, neutral, everyday spaces in rural Tamil Nadu, revealing how spatial boundaries are constantly negotiated through symbolic power. While “The Last Sacrifice” illuminates the negotiations of power and belief systems within ritualized rural settings, “Magamuni” portrays the psychological and material displacements that accompany the breakdown of traditional social frameworks. Together, these narratives show how Murugan’s fiction maps the evolving textures of rural existence, capturing both the resilience and vulnerability of communities confronting transformation. The paper argues that such literary representations provide valuable insight into the lived realities and spatial imaginations of contemporary rural Tamil Nadu.