Elephants In A Sugarcane Field

Sebastian Vattamattam, diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease at sixteen and confined for two years, found solace in reading—a habit that would shape his philosophical journey. Confronted early with the grim prognosis that patients like him rarely live beyond twenty-five, he embraced the certainty of death as a source of resilience. Now in his eighties, Sebastian reflects on a life spent teaching mathematics across Goa, Nigeria, Qatar, and Changanassery, while cultivating a deep love for philosophy. His book Elephants in a Sugarcane Field draws on the provocative insights of Jacques Lacan and Slavoj Žižek to explore unsettling questions about social reality, language, ideology, and the human condition. From the role of temples in sustaining collective fantasies to the universality of abusive language, the book probes the intersections of psychoanalysis, spirituality, and existential inquiry. Born in Neyyassery village, Thodupuzha, Kerala, in 1945, Sebastian has authored several works in Malayalam and English, and currently resides in Ettumanoor, Kottayam, where he convenes the Ettumanoor Kavya Vedi (The Ettumanoor Forum of Poets).