The Press Trust of India reported that the fire burns in a pit in the home of Neelakandhan Namboodiri at the village of Cheruvathery, in the southwest coastal state of Kerala.
More than 100 people were killed July last when a high-speed train ran off the rails on a bridge and fell into a river in the southern state of Kerala.
The trust's translations of Indian works include such books as "Tin Malayalam Natak" and the Punjabi version of "Three Malayalam Plays," set in the shady jungles of Kerala.
Government of the Indian state of Kerala is buying pepper direct from farmers in order to support prices, Man-producten reports.
While the two south Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala had made a significant contribution to the improvement in production, Assam and West Bengal in the north had recorded handsome gains.