Pandemics Memory and Trauma in Amulya Malladi’s
A Breath of Fresh Air

Shunmugapriya S.
Research Scholar (Reg.No.2421315022010),
Department of English, S.T. Hindu College, Nagercoil – 629002.
(Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli-627012.)

Dr. M. Mahesh
Associate Professor & Research Supervisor,
Department of English, S.T. Hindu College, Nagercoil – 629002.
(Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli-627012.)

Abstract
This paper investigates the complex interplay between pandemic experiences, memory, and psychological trauma as depicted in Amulya Malladi’s A Breath of Fresh Air. Adopting a literary-critical approach, the research traces how the narrative engages with the emotional residues of a historical pandemic, mapping the protagonist’s internal landscape shaped by personal grief and collective upheaval. The analysis foregrounds the dual role of memory as both a sanctuary and a site of turmoil, influencing the protagonist’s emotional evolution and coping mechanisms. Central to this examination is the novel’s structure and character development, which reflects the far-reaching consequences of pandemic trauma on individual lives and interpersonal dynamics. Placed within the framework of pandemic fiction, the novel is read as a commentary on the repetitive cycles of human suffering and the process of emotional reconstruction. The study also focuses on Malladi’s use of literary strategies that intensify the narrative’s engagement with loss, migration, and psychological endurance. Ultimately, the research demonstrates that A Breath of Fresh Air offers a profound exploration of the emotional aftershocks of pandemics, marking it as a vital contribution to trauma narratives in contemporary literature. It underscores fiction’s potential to express human strength, memory, and healing in the aftermath of epidemiological and historical adversity.

Keywords: Psychological Resilience, Emotional Recovery, Displacement, Epidemiology, Post-pandemic, Cyclical Trauma.