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TAMIL BOOKS REVIEW | தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம்

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தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " ஸீரோ டிகிரி - சாரு நிவேதிதா ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " பழி - அய்யனார் விஸ்வநாத் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " எனது பார்வையில் ஆர்.எஸ்.எஸ். - ஜெயகாந்தன் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " ரெயினீஸ் ஐயர் தெரு - வண்ணநிலவன் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " ஒரு கடலோர கிராமத்தின் கதை - தோப்பில் முஹம்மது மீரான் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " சூடிய பூ சூடற்க - நாஞ்சில் நாடன் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " the alchemist ( ரசவாதி ) - paulo coelho ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " நட்சத்திரவாசிகள் - கார்த்திக் பாலசுப்ரமணியன் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " கெட்ட வார்த்தை பேசுவோம் - பெருமாள் முருகன் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " ஆமென்: ஒரு கன்னிகாஸ்திரீயின் தன்வரலாறு - சிஸ்டர் ஜெஸ்மி - குளச்சல் மு.யூசுப் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " புதுவையில் ஒரு மழைக்காலம் - அய்யனார் விஸ்வநாத் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " கொமோரா - லஷ்மி சரவணகுமார் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " 1098 - சுப்ரபாரதிமணியன் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " பாத்துமாவின் ஆடு - வைக்கம் முகம்மது பஷீர் - குளச்சல் யூசுஃப் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " எங்கே உன் கடவுள் - சாரு நிவேதிதா ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " நகர்துஞ்சும் நள்யாமத்தில் செங்கோட்டு யானைகள் எடுத்துப் படித்த viii தஸ்தாவேஜ்கள் - பாவெல் சக்தி ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " சாப்பாட்டுப் புராணம் - சமஸ் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " ஒரு சிறிய விடுமுறைக்கால காதல் கதை - எஸ்.ராமகிருஷ்ணன் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " ஹிப்பி - அய்யனார் விஸ்வநாத் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " கானல் நீர் - அப்துல்லா கான் - விலாசினி ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " அதீதத்தின் ருசி - மனுஷ்யபுத்திரன் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " பசித்த மானிடம் - கரிச்சான் குஞ்சு ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " கூளமாதாரி - பெருமாள் முருகன் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " யூதர்கள் - முகில் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " என் கதை - கமலா தாஸ் - நிர்மால்யா ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " உணவின் வரலாறு - பா.ராகவன் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " கோதைத்தீவு - வ.ரா ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " பெரியாரின் போர்வாள் நடிகவேள் எம்.ஆர்.ராதா - சோம சுந்தரம் ", தமிழ் புத்தக விமர்சனம் " மிட்டாய் கதைகள் - கலீல் ஜிப்ரான் - என்.சொக்கன் ".

கதை சொல்கிறேன் | தமிழ் சிறுகதைகள் | Tamil Short Stories

இலக்கிய தாகமும், எழுத்து வேட்கையும் தணித்துக் கொள்ள எழுதுகிறேன்..

Tag: "Tamil Book review"

சுந்தர காண்டம்.

மனம் ஒரு குரங்கு மனிதமனம் ஒரு குரங்கு அதை தாவ விட்டால் தப்பி ஓடவிட்டால்...

வெண்ணிற இரவுகள்

"வெண்ணிற இரவுகள் "  முகநூல் தளத்தில் இந்த கதையைப் பற்றி பதிவு எழுதாதவர்களே இல்லை என்று சொல்லும் அளவுக்கு நாயகி நாஸ்தென்காவைப் பற்றியும் அவ்வளவு பதிவுகள். அப்படி என்ன இந்தக் கதையில் இருக்கிறது என்ற ஆர்வம் இந்தக் கதையைப் படிக்க காரணமானது.

தூக்கிலிடுபவரின் குறிப்புகள்

தூக்குதண்டனை  பெற்றவர்களின் கழுத்தில் சுருக்குக் கயிறு மாட்டி லீவரை அழுத்தியதும் பாதாளத்தில் சென்றதும் அந்த நபரின் கடைசி நிமிட.... அதனால் ஒவ்வொரு முறையும்  ஜனார்த்தனன் மனம்  பட்டபாடு.  இந்த வேலையை அவர் எந்த சூழ்நிலையில் ஒப்புக்கொண்டார் என்பதையும் இப்படிப்பட்டவரின்  குடும்பத்திற்கு சமூகம் கொடுக்கும் (மரியாதை அல்ல) இடம், அவரின் தாய், தந்தை ,சகோதரர்கள் , தன் மனைவி குழந்தைகள் குறிப்பாக தன் பெண்ணுக்கு மணமகன் தேடுவது  என குடும்பம் சார்ந்த  குறிப்புகள் ஒருபுறம்.

இரகசியம் என்பது பொதுவாக வெளியில் சொல்லாது  ஒருவரின் ஆழ்மனதில் இருக்கும் கனவு ,ஆசை ,கோபம், காதல், இன்னபிற என்று சொல்லலாம். இந்த புத்தகத்தில் உள்ள ரகசியம் ,  ஒருவர் தன் இலக்கு நோக்கிச் செல்லும் வழியில் எதிர்ப்படும்  பூட்டிய கதவு,  எழும்பி நிற்கும் சுவர்,  தடுக்கி விட காத்திருக்கும் கல், திறந்திருக்கும் சன்னலையும் சாத்திவிடும் உள்நுழையும்  பெருங்காற்று, இன்னும் இன்னும் இதுபோன்ற எத்தனையோ தடைகளை, அவற்றின் தன்மைக்கு ஏற்ப, இலகுவாக அல்லது தன் முழு வலிமையினால் ,திறந்தோ, உடைத்தோ, நகர்த்தியோ, தள்ளியோ, சுற்றிக்கொண்டோ, ஏறிநின்று  (வெற்றிபெற்ற அல்ல) சாதனை படைத்தவர்களை உங்களால் எப்படி சாத்தியமாயிற்று? என விழிவிரிந்து ,வியந்து பார்த்து, கேட்கும் கேள்விக்கு பதிலே இந்த இரகசியம்.தமிழில் 'கதாநாயகன்' என்ற பெயரில் P.S.V.குமாரசாமி அவர்களின் மொழிபெயர்ப்பில் அருமையாக இருக்கிறது.

மெரீனா என்ற பெயர் + அட்டைப்படத்தை பார்த்ததும் (எஸ்.ஜானகி சிரித்த முகமும் கண்டு என்ற பாடலை குழந்தைகுரலில்  ஒருகுழந்தை பாடி பயிற்சி செய்வதுபோன்று பாடத்தொடங்கிகொஞ்சம் கொஞ்சமாக சுருதிமாறி கடைசியில் சிரித்தமுகம் கண்டு என்பது அழுத முகம் என குழந்தை பாடுவது போன்று பாடியிருப்பார் .) நகைச்சுவை கதைஎனநினைத்து வாங்கிவிட்டேன்.

கண்ணுக்குத் தெரியாத மனிதன்

ஹெச் .ஜி.வெல்ஸ் தன் வீட்டினரால் பெர்ட்டி என்று அன்புடன் அழைக்கப்பட்டவர். மூன்றுவயதிலேயே தன் அம்மாவால் புத்தகம் படிக்கும் பழக்கத்தை மேற்கொண்டவர். ஏழாம் வயதில் காலொடிந்து மாதக்கணக்கில் படுக்கையில் இருக்கவேண்டிய நிலையில் அவனின் அப்பா அவருக்கு தாவரவியல், உயிரியல் , விண்வெளியியல் ஆகிய புதத்தகங்களை அறிமுகப்படுத்த பின்னாளில் இதனை  குறிப்பிட்டு வாழ்வில் முக்கியமான தருணம் என்று சொல்லியிருக்கிறார்.

சிறுவயதில் கிடை மாடுகள் சாலையில் செல்வதைப் பார்த்திருக்கிறேன். தொலைவிலிருந்தே  கேட்க தொடங்கும்  மாட்டின் கழுத்திலிருக்கும் மணியின் டிங் டிடிங்டாங் சத்தமும் டக்டக் குளம்படிச் சத்தமும் சாலையின் ஒரு கோடியிலிருந்து மறுகோடிக்கு செல்லும் வரையிலும்  குறைந்தபட்சம் ஐந்து நிமிடங்கள் வரையிலும் தாளம் தப்பாத இசையாக  கேட்கும்.

டான்டூனின் கேமரா

புத்தகத்தின் அட்டையிலும் உள்ளேயும் எறும்பின் உடலமைப்பைப் போன்றே படங்களை வரைந்தளித்த கே.ஜி.நரேந்திரபாபுக்கு  நன்றிகள். வயதில் சிறியவர்களாக நவீன தொழில் நுட்பத்தினை எளிதில் புரிந்து கையாளக் கூடியவர்களாக வீட்டில் இருக்கும் பெரியவர்களுக்கு சொல்லித்தரும் சாமிநாத, சாமிநாதிகள்(பேரன் பேத்திகள்) குழந்தைகள் தின பதிவாக இந்த புத்தக விமர்சனத்தைப் பதிவிடுகிறேன்.

மேனிலைப் பள்ளி இறுதித் தேர்வில் "பிடித்த எழுத்தாளர்" தலைப்பில் கட்டுரை வரைக என்றகேள்விக்கு ராணிமுத்து வரிசையில் வாசித்த அகிலனின் நாவல்களால்   அவரின் ரசிகையான நான் சந்தோஷத்துடன் அகிலனைப் பற்றியும் அவரின்  'துணைவி ' நாவலைப்பற்றியும் எழுதினேன்.

தெனாலிராமன் கதைகள் | Tenali Raman Stories

விஜயநகர பேரரசின் கிருஷ்ணதேவராயரின் அவையில் இடம்பெற்ற விகடகவிராஜன் எல்லோருக்கும் தெரிந்த  தெனாலிராமன். புத்தகத்தில் 27 கதைகள் உள்ளன. தனக்கு வந்த ஆபத்தோ, உடனிருப்பவர்க்கு வரும் சங்கடமோ  தன்னுடைய சமயோசித அறிவினால் அழகாக திருப்பிவிட்டு ஒவ்வொருமுறையும்  "சபாஷ்" போடவைக்கிறான்

அறிவியல் விளையாட்டு

ஆன்மீகமோ,அறிவியலோ, கருத்துகளோ ,கணிதமோ, கதையாக, பாட்டாக, விளையாட்டாக குழந்தைகளிடம்  கற்றலை விதைத்தால் அது அவர்களை அறியாமலே மனதில் ஆழப்பதிந்துவிடும்.

சாயாவனம்(sayavanam)

சிதம்பரம் குழந்தையாக இருக்கும்போதே அவன் அம்மா அவனைத் தூக்கிக்கொண்டு ஊரைவிட்டுச் சென்று விடுகிறாள். உருவத்திலும் செல்வத்திலும் வளர்ந்தவனாக திரும்பிவரும் சிதம்பரம், சாம்ப சிவத்திற்கு சொந்தமான சாயாவனத்தை விலைக்கு வாங்கி கரும்பாலை ஒன்றை நிறுவ வேண்டும் என்று எண்ணத்துடன் வருகிறான்.

அகிலன் என் அபிமான எழுத்தாளர். ராணிமுத்து வரிசையில் வாழ்வு எங்கே? நெஞ்சின் அலைகள், துணைவி, சிநேகிதி பால்மரக் கட்டினிலே இந்தகதைகள் எல்லாம் ஒவ்வொன்றும் மறக்க இயலாதவை.

இன்பமயமான தமிழகவரலாறு

சூழலியல் சீர்கேடு எப்படியெல்லாம் உருவாகிறது என்பதை நாம் தெரிந்து கொள்வதுடன் நம் சந்ததியினரை எச்சரிக்கவும்  இந்த நூலை அவசியம் அனைவரும் படிக்கவேண்டும். 

நல்லதோர் வீணை

உடற் பிணியைப் போக்கும் ஓயாத மருத்துவ பணி. அதற்கு இணையாக மகளிரின் உள்ளத்திற்கு உரமூட்டும் வகையில் எழுத்துப் பணி இரண்டையும் சிறப்புறச் செய்த லெஷ்மி அவர்களுக்கு என் வணக்கங்கள்.

ரெட் பலூன்(Red Balloon)

"ரெட் பலூன்" சிறார் வகை நாவல். இது படமாக்கப்பட்டு கேன்ஸ் திரைப்படவிழாவில் தங்கப்பதக்கம் விருதையும், ஆஸ்கார் விருதையும், பிரிட்டிஷ் அகாதெமி விருதையும்  பெற்றிருக்கிறது.

ஆகாயத்துக்கு அடுத்த வீடு

வயதானபின்பு நிதானமாய் யோசிக்கும் போதுதான் தெரிகிறது நாம் எவ்வளவு நாட்கள் பயனற்றதை  செய்திருக்கிறோம் என்று.

குறிஞ்சி மலர்

வறுமை விரட்டிய நிலையிலும் பண்பு நிறைந்தவனான அரவிந்தனே என் மனதுக்கு குறிஞ்சிமலராகிறான்.  மலரில் ஆண்மலரும் உண்டுதானே!!!

"'ஜீவனாம்சம்' சி.சு.செல்லப்பாவின்  'எழுத்து' இதழில் 1959-60 இல் வெளிவந்துள்ளது. முன்னுரையில் ஆசிரியர்  இந்த படைப்பிற்கான நடப்பு ஆதாரம் உண்டு என்பதோடு அது என்ன என்பதையும் கொடுத்துள்ளார். அதை அப்படியே தராமல் கதைக்கு ஜீவனாக ஒரு இழையை  மட்டும் எடுத்து அழகாக  முழுக்க முழுக்க சாவி்த்திரி என்ற நாயகியின் மன போராட்டம் வழியே கதையை கொண்டு சென்று...."

வாடி வாசல்(Vaadi vaasal)

"மாடு என்றால் செல்வம் அப்படிப்பட்ட செல்வத்தை, அதன் தொடர்பான பாரம்பரியமிக்க  வீர விளையாட்டை  வாடி வாசல்  என்ற  அழியாத கால்நடை சுவட்டை பதிப்பித்த 'காலச் சுவடு'க்கு நன்றிகள்."

கல்கியின் சிறுகதைகள்

"தந்தைக்கு தன் புதல்வியின் சங்கீத ஞானத்தைப் பற்றி மகா பெருமை. தன் வண்டியின் ஹாரன் சத்தத்திற்கு அடுத்து பெண்ணின் குரல்தான் அவருக்கு மிகப் பிடிக்கும்."

உலகளவில் புகழ்பெற்ற ஏழைகள்

வெள்ளத்தனைய மலர் நீட்டமாக உள்ளத்தனைய உயர்வு பெற்று  வாழ அனைவருக்கும் புத்தாண்டு  வாழ்த்துகள்!!

மறைந்து வரும் மரங்கள்

'எங்கேயோ காணக்கூடிய அற்புதங்களைக் கண்டு அதிசயிக்கும் மனிதன் கண்முன் அழியும் இயற்கையைின் அற்புதங்களைப் பற்றி ஒரு கவலையும் இல்லாமல் வாழ்வது கூட உலக  அதிசயமாயுள்ளது அப்படித்தான் மரங்கள் அழிவதும்'

வாடா மலர்(vada malar)

தானப்பனும் குழந்தைவேலும் சிறுவர்களாக இருந்தபோது  கரித்துண்டுகளால் மீசை வரைந்து அதை வீட்டிலுள்ள கண்ணாடியில்  பார்க்க  முயற்சிக்க , அம்மா அப்பாவுக்கு பயந்து  பக்கத்திலுள்ள குட்டையில் பார்க்கின்றனர்.

வாஷிங்டனில் திருமணம்

"அலிபாபாவின் குகையின் கதவு திறக்க 'திறந்திடு சீசேம்' என்று சொல்ல வேண்டும். பல்வேறு அழுத்தங்களால் மூடிக்கிடக்கும் மனதை திறக்கும் சாவி, விசா இன்றி வாஷிங்டனில் திரும(ன)ணம் காண வைத்ததற்கு மீண்டும் நன்றிகள் சா(வி)ர்."

புதுமைப்பித்தனின் ஆற்றங்கரை பிள்ளையார்

"உறங்கிக் கொண்டிருந்த பிள்ளையார் ஒரு அற்புதமான கனவு காண்கிறார். தான் பெரிதாக வளர்வது போல் தெரிகிறது. முகத்தில் புன் சிரிப்பு தோன்றுகிறது. தும்பிக்கை சற்று அசைகிறது."

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Book review: Tamil novel about 1960s Sembawang teems with life

SEMBAWANG: A NOVEL

By Kamaladevi Aravindan, translated by Anitha Devi Pillai

Marshall Cavendish/Paperback/320 pages/$23.01/ Available here

At the end of her author's note, Kamaladevi describes the novel as her attempt to capture, among other things, "the life experiences of many from my soil".

And she has pulled it off, telling in riveting fashion the stories of Tamil and Malayalee men and women in 1960s Sembawang and conjuring up the texture of their lived experiences.

The book feels like a history-from-below project, with its focus on the voices that are not often captured in the usual history textbooks.

A map of Sembawang in the 1960s and old photos are included to help readers create a mental map of the place and time, while a prologue sets out the larger context of how Indians from places like Tamil Nadu were sold as indentured labour to work in Malaya (what is now Malaysia) under the British.

While the book's approach is historical, it is anything but dry. Instead, it teems with life given its evocative period details and sprawling web of characters .

The story begins with Kaali, who leaves her rubber tapper husband and young son behind in Malaya to elope with her lover to Singapore. Through her, we are introduced to various characters living in Sembawang in the 1960s, many of whom work at the British naval base there.

There is the married woman tragically attracted to a bachelor neighbour; an elderly man who survived after being sent to build the Siam Railway during World War II; and a Chinese man and an Indian woman who fall in love with each other, scandalising the village.

There are the usual tensions between husbands and wives; mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law; landlords and tenants. And then there is a shocking crime inspired by a real-life incident - two midwives at a maternity clinic are sexually assaulted by three youths.

Kamaladevi does not condemn the youths but allows them to redeem themselves later. In the same spirit of generosity, she casts a kindly eye over the foibles of the other characters, including Kaali, who eventually gains forgiveness for leaving her husband and child.

National Institute of Education applied linguist Anitha Devi Pillai, in translating her mother's book from Tamil to English, has given readers access to stories that deserve a wider audience.

While the novel is a valuable addition to books about Singapore history, it is less accomplished as a work of fiction. Given its wide cast of characters, individuals in the book are thinly sketched, including the main protagonist Kaali.

Nevertheless, it is an engrossing read that adds to our understanding of Singapore history.

If you like this, read: How We Disappeared by Lee Jing-Jing (Oneworld, 2019, $19.26, available here ), in which an old woman looks back at her harrowing experience as a comfort woman during World War II.

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Vishy’s Blog

On books, reading and other delightful things, book review – ponniyin selvan (ponni’s son) (volume 1) by kalki.

May 26, 2021 by Vishy

I haven’t read a book in my native language Tamil in a while. So I thought that before I forget it completely, I’ll read a book in Tamil  I decided to read ‘ Ponniyin Selvan ‘ (Ponni’s Son) by Kalki .

‘ Ponniyin Selvan ‘ was first published in the 1950s, when it was serialized in Kalki magazine. It was probably the first (or one of the first) historical novels in Tamil and it got great acclaim and a huge fan following when it first came out. It led to a whole historical-fiction-industry in Tamil, when everyone and their brother and sister started writing historical novels. I think that craze died sometime in the 1990s.

I first read ‘ Ponniyin Selvan ‘ when I was in school. It was reissued again  in Kalki magazine. We used to read a couple of chapters every week and then wait for the next week’s issue. The story ran for nearly three years. A few years back, one of the publishers decided to publish the book in the format in which it originally came out in the 1950s, with the same font, and the illustrations by the original artist. When this edition came out, I got it. It was beautiful. That is the one I am reading now. I finished reading the first volume today.

What is the story about? Well, ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ has a long, epic, rambling plot. It is a historical novel set at around 970 C.E. It is about the Chola king and queens and princes and princesses and their friends and enemies. It has everything that one would expect in a historical novel – many characters, intricate plot, conspiracies, palace intrigues, romance, war, amazing adventures, secrets from the past, charming characters, spies, badass villains, many surprising revelations. The influence of Alexandre Dumas is deeply felt in Kalki’s book – there is a young man, Vandhiyadevan, who looks like D’Artagnan, there is a beautiful woman, Nandini, who looks like Milady de Winter, and there is even a minister like Cardinal Richelieu. Of course, the actual plot and characters are different and fascinating in their own way.

One of the things I loved about the book is that it focuses on the plot and the characters. There is a lot of charming dialogue, but there are no long monologues or boring descriptions. There is rarely a dull moment in the story. Another thing I loved about the book is that, the author gives the required historical background, whenever it is required for a better understanding of the story. He doesn’t push the historical background into the footnotes or into the notes at the back of the book, but provides it in the middle of the story. That way he makes us learn history on the way and I loved that. Another thing I loved about the story is that different characters in the book quote classic Tamil poetry, and they follow it up with a commentary on the poem. Sometimes a poem has mythological allusions which are not readily apparent while reading the poem and the author, through a character’s voice, explains them. It was fascinating to read.

I read the book for the first time when I was fifteen and now when I am reading it again after many years, my reading experience is totally different. For example, when I read it the first time, I unconsciously classified the characters as good and bad, the way we tend to do when we are younger. But reading it now, I realized that the way Kalki has depicted the characters, they are complex and imperfect and fascinating. The bad characters are not really bad, and the good characters are not really perfect. It is fascinating how we see a book with new eyes, when we read it again after many years.

The artwork in the book by Maniom, is very beautiful. It has a classical, vintage feel to it. I’m sharing some of my favourite pictures from the book, below. Hope you like them.

Hoping to start the second volume later today 😊

Have you read ‘ Ponniyin Selvan ‘? Do you like re-reading your favourite books? Do you relate to them differently when you read them again?

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Posted in Book Review , Historical Novels , Tamil literature | Tagged   Cholas , Kalki , Kundhavai , Manion , Nandini , Ponniyin Selvan , Tamil Historical Novels , Tamil literature , Vandhiyadevan | 17 Comments

17 Responses

What a beautiful reprint of this book Vishy, I love all the illustrations you share and that format. It’s interesting too that it sparked off a trend in writing historical fiction and good to know this one has stood the test of time.

Enjoy the next volume.

Thank you, Claire 😊 Glad you liked the illustrations. It makes me nostalgic and makes me remember my teenage self and summer holidays when we used to read for the whole day 😊 Have started the next volume and am nearly halfway in. It is wonderful!

I wish I could read Tamil. It is my mother tongue but as I didn’t grow up in the south, I didn’t learn to read or write in the language. Tamil literature is very rich and it must be wonderful to be able to read books in the original. I do love re reading books from my childhood and youth and enjoy revisiting them through an adult lens. Thank you for the wonderful post!

Glad you liked the post 😊 Hope you get to read some of these Tamil books in translation. I’ve heard that the translations are wonderful too. Re-reading books from our childhood is wonderful, isn’t it? Glad you like it too 😊

What striking illustrations and how wonderful you’ve shared them with us…that must have taken some time and patience!

I’ve not heard of this book but I do love to revisit and reread books, of all kinds but especially the books i loved when I was a kid, books that I reread even then, ad compare how differently I feel about them now or what stands out differently. Eventually I started to keep a log of my favourite passages, so now if I reread something I’ve not read for a decade or so, I can also look back to see which passages I flagged on my previous reading (there is usually a little overlap, but not much)! What strikes me about your reread here is the idea that the characters were interpreted as more one-dimensional whereas now you have seen complexity and contradictions. Fascinating!

Glad you liked the illustrations 😊 So nice to know that you enjoy re-reading your favourites too! Loved what you said about how your favourite passages from the first read and the subsequent read were different. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 😊

I love that you noticed shades of gray in characters your younger self had assumed were black and white – you’re right, we do that as kids. I admire you for reading Tamil – I’m still trying to develop a habit of reading Marathi.

Loved what you said about shades of grey. Hope you enjoy reading Marathi books and stories.

“The bad characters are not really bad, and the good characters are not really perfect.” — thinking to read one from my childhood now…

Thank you for your comment, Dop 😊 So nice to see you after a long time. Hope you enjoy reading your childhood favourites again.

Ponniyin Selvan is a masterpiece. The characters have unique qualities. Even a mixture of the three musketeers and Macbeth wouldn’t come close to kalkis literary work.

I have read the 5 volume English translation and was fascinated by the narrative and it’s fascinating take episode to episode. Even when reading it I felt it naturally lent itself to serialization. Glad Mani Ratnam is making it.

Nice, where can I buy this book with illustrations? I have read the hardbound book in tamil, but love to get this version with the illustrations.

This illustrated edition is published by Vikatan Publications. You can get it on Amazon or through their website.

its very very intersting book

[…] what I wrote in my review of the first part of the book, last year. You can find the whole review here. ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ is a historical novel set at around 970 C.E. It is about the Chola […]

Nice film But if you mentioned bit about Keerthi Vijayabahu, then it is perfect. Next thing is Buddhist monks never bow in front of King and never stand for King. Probably Mr Manirathnam does not know about that.

Any way nice film.

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Book Review: Wild Words Four Tamil Poets

Wild Words Four Tamil Poets published by Harper Perennial is a collection of select poetry of four contemporary Tamil poets, Malathi Maithri, Salma, Kutti Revathi and Sukirtharani translated from Tamil into English by Lakshmi Holmstrom.

Lakshmi Holmstrom is particularly known for her translation of Bama’s Karukku and Ambai’s short stories, I n a forest, a Deer . In the translator’s note Holmstrom informs the reader that the four poets in the collection came into sharp focus with the publication of Kutti Revathi’s Mulaigal ( Breasts, 2002) which faced harsh criticism for taking on the taboo subject of women’s bodies, so much so that they were even subject to death threats from the so-called ‘custodians of Tamil culture’.

Perhaps what this collection best highlights even without going into the troubled history of their publication is the nuanced diversity of women’s experiences according to class, caste, place and religion which gives a fresh perspective to feminism. Therefore just as it is foolish to homogenise feminism similarly it is extremely naive to label the poems immediately as ‘obscene’ or the poets as ‘bad girls’ without taking the artistic point of view. While what binds the poems in this collection together is the effort of all the poets to raise some form of awareness to mitigate the oppression of women yet the feminist and artistic journey that each embarks on is unique and universal which perhaps gives this collection an immediacy and freshness of approach. 

Also read: Women In Baburao Bagul’s Short Stories From ‘When I Hid My Caste’

The poems of poet and activist Malathi Maithri who was born and raised in a fishing community set the tone for the collection of ‘ Wild Words’ . There is in fact a juxtaposition or movement between two distinct strains of thought in her poetry: the familiar states of oppression and experience and the imaginary states of emancipation. The former relates to her depiction of the plight of women of the fishing community subject to crushing hard work and hunger who can only fill their empty stomachs with a bit of rice water ( Camels, horses and a fish Basket ), or the familiar natural surroundings of the river-bed ( Observe the crane ). The common experience of child birth metamorphoses to a ‘ snow storm ‘ and ‘ raging wave ‘ and finally to a ‘ great exploding volcano’ (in Bhumadevi) and swaying on the swing transforms into a supernatural experience where ‘ stars bloom ‘ and ‘lightning charge ‘ ( Swing ). Her imaginary states of emancipation further relate to her alliance with the female poets of the past Sappho, Sylvia Plath and Velliviidhi to create a world where ‘ we will read our poems/full of dreams and desires, Sovereign Queens of words; we will weave with our bodies ‘ ( Empress of Words ). Even this is not enough for in the end women, poet and demon become one to stand outside time as ‘ nilli wicked woman ‘ ( Demon Language ).

The poet Salma who had a middle class Muslim upbringing was deprived of education at an early age and is entirely self-educated. Her poetry explores the alienation in a traditional marriage, the power balance in favour of the husband, the hostility and lack of support to the women from even her parental family. These harrowing experiences are narrated in A midnight tale, New bride, New Night, The contract and An Evening Another Evening . She explores a world where ‘ enclosed within four walls/ there is no shade for me to sit’ and ‘ in this universe/there may be many creatures/alone with their prey/ living amicably together/ leading pleasant lives ‘ ( An Evening Another Evening ). The husband even after childbirth continues to want an unblemished body of his wife. While the birth marks can’t be erased from a woman’s body the man has the advantage of maintaining relations with other women without ever being caught. The woman is forever chastened for all that goes wrong, for the bride’s sister angrily and her mother subtly blames her ‘for all that goes wrong/ in the bedroom ‘ ( The Contract ), while the man is always at an advantageous position for his, ‘ body is not like mine it proclaims itself/ it stands manifest’ (A midnight tale) .

The poet Sukirtharani who belongs to the Dalit caste gives a fresh perspective to women’s experiences incorporating the caste point of view in her poetry. Like Maithri, in her poems too are the distinct strands of commonplace states of experience and the imaginary states of emancipation. The former relates to the introspection of the life of the Dalits in the villages who carry, dispose or skin the carcasses of animals of the upper caste, beat the drums in the funeral processions and are ultimately humiliated by the constant segregation and denial from mainstream village life ( I speak bluntly and A faint smell of meat ). In these poems her imagery is always rooted in the Dalit experience be it the imagery of the village, or the land, or people. In Portrait of my village the ‘ pain of caste ‘ is forever present and so is the ‘ tormenting hunger ‘ as the Dalits are paid such meagre compensation for their hard labour. In the imaginary realm she seeks a new language that ‘ will put an end to sorrow ‘ ( Infant Language ). In the The only woman in the world she imagines a woman for whom ‘men turned to stone wait, aeon upon aeon to be released form their curse by the touch of her feet .’ 

Kutti Revathi expresses her feminist concerns as she imbibes women’s experiences, be it the act of love, ‘ The force of our love’s union/ is like the read earth and pouring rain ‘ ( Rain river ), childbirth (in the poem Childbirth ), through the metaphor of nature and the woman’s body. But the silencing and the capitulation of the women through the metaphor of the body is also highlighted in poems such as Stone Goddesses where ‘ at the merest hint of a man’s scent they decline into lifeless corpses ‘.

In conclusion it is worth going back to the turbulent history of the publication of the poetry in this collection. The translator notes that since the 90s women’s poetry came to be highlighted because it was different from mainstream poetry. This brings to an important point relating to the review of this book. Kutti Revathi in ‘Tamil Women’s poetry: A Current of Contemporary Voices’ has noted, “ Just as the body belongs to man, so do the words that denote the parts thereof… So, too, is the exclusion of women from poetry. And where her entry is permitted, such permission is granted only on condition that her poetry must subject itself to self-censorship .” Thus just like in society a women has to conform to certain diktats so too to enter the finest literary genre of poetry a woman has to seek conformity to the established male tradition. It is expected that even though she speaks about her own body her own experiences it has to be attuned to the male view of the women’s self. Without getting into it sociologically it is pertinent to also say that obscenity is frequently an allegation concocted by the dominant sections in the literary world to dismiss non-standard modes of expression of the weaker sections as not being good enough.

Also read: Book Review: My Temples, Too By Qurratulain Hyder

It is common knowledge that frequently each of the women in this collection seeks to uproot this tradition Maithri seeks ‘ a demon language ‘ ( Demon Language ), Sukirtharani a language that is ‘ open and honourable’  ( Infant Language ), Kutti Revathi wants to reject it all ‘ the mistakes of history/ the slashes that outline the body/ destruction of imagination ‘ ( Face to Face ), and Salma ‘ wants to imagine an entirely new dream ‘ ( Green Angel ).

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You are here: Home » » Blog » [Book Review] Ponniyin Selvan

[Book Review] Ponniyin Selvan

Published Mar 25, 2015 | In Books

As I mentioned in my earlier book review post where I reviewed Stephen Hawking’s A brief History of Time , I started reading Ponniyin Selvan by Kalki and got completely engross in it. It is the main reason you didn’t see any blog post from me in the last few weeks, even though I took a resolution to write at least one blog post a week.

It was originally published as an ongoing series in the Kalki weekly magazine in the 1950’s and ran for about three and a half years. It is now published in novel form and comes in 5 volumes with a total of about 2200 pages.

Reading Speed

This book was my first serious fiction reading in Tamil and it took me exactly two months to finish it. Each page took me about 2 minutes to read and in total I spent about 75 hours to finish the entire series at an average rate of 2 hour every day 🙂

Yes, it is a massive book but it was very engrossing and I spent literally every free minute I had in the last two months to finish it 🙂

The book is definitely a page turner and if you have interest in history then you will find it very difficult to put it down 🙂

The author gives you vivid description of the ancient Tamil nation, politics and culture. Most of the times I felt as if I was living among the characters and I am planning to visit the places that are mentioned in the book.

The book has an excellent and interesting story-line and has strong and well portrayed characters from both genders. I am pretty sure I will be able to remember most of the characters for a very long time since they left an lasting impression.

If you can read Tamil then don’t miss this book. If you can’t read Tamil then at least read a translation. You can thank me later 🙂

My rating for the entire series is 5 out of 5. If you look at the individual books in the series, then except for the 4th book I would rate 5 and 4 for the 4th book.

I am going to take a break from reading Tamil books for a few weeks since I have spent 2 months reading only Tamil, but I have added the other historical novels by Kalki like “Parthiban Kanavu” and “Sivagamiyin Sapatham” which are about the Pallava Dynasty to my to-read list.

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Hi Sundar, Would you be able to read and write review for my book ‘Semmaari’ which is a tamil novel in Action-Thriller genre. Please let me know

Sure. I would be interested in reviewing your book. Would it be possible for you to send me a copy of it?

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Best Tamil Books To Read Before You Die

If you wan to explore more of the Tamil Literature here is a complete list of best books to read in tamil .  The Tamil language has a rich literary tradition spanning over 2000 years.  The earliest examples of Tamil literature date back to the Sangam period (600 BCE - 300 CE), and consist of the early Sangam poems and classical literature.   In addition, many medieval era Tamil devotional poems were composed in the Shaiva Bhakti movement . If you are a tamil book reader then this article is for you as in this article you will see some of the best tamil books to read before you die. Tamil literature has been transmitted through many sources such as written manuscripts, oral tradition, and printed media.  The earliest known inscriptions in Tamil are from about 500 BCE to 300 CE. Modern Tamil literary works include novels, short stories, poems, plays, essays, historical and scientific works, and more. Below we have compiled a list of interesting books to read in tamil.

Our Top Picks For best tamil books to read before you die

• Muthal Paarvaiyilae Ennai : Best For Romance 
• Yavana Rani :   Best For Historical Novel 

Also Read : Best Telugu Books ,  Must Watch Tamil Movies  and Tamil Romantic Movies 

best books to read in tamil : tamil literature books

1. theeyaga unnai kanden.

The yoga Unnai Kanden , written by Muthulakshmi Raghavan follows the story of Yamuna. The readers have a swoon-worthy read as Yamuna’s life is faced with the dilemma of choosing between the two princes. Theeyaga Unnai Kanden is one of the best tamil novels that you must read if you are more attracted towards the genre of Romance

• Year of publication: 2014
• Price: ₹250
• Goodreads Rating : 4
• Genre: Novel, Romance

2. Muthal Paarvaiyilae Ennai

Written by Sorna Sandhanakumar , the story features the romance between a husband and wife ,  easily one of the best story books to read in Tamil. After a sudden accident, the wife loses her memory and forgets her husband. As we go deeper into the story, we find how with the support and love from her family and loved ones, she finds her memory, and the love for her husband again.

• Year of publication: 2019
• Goodreads Rating :3.5
• Genre: Romance

Video Review

3. Yavana Rani

At number 3 in our Tamil Books List we have Yavana Rani , one of the best tamil novels to read in terms of historical and action filled genre. Yavana Rani, written by Sandilyan, is a historical novel set during the reign of Karikalan. The book takes the readers back to the early Cholas dynasty, covering the story of Chola Army’s Commander-in-Chief. The plot for the book was derived from an  old Tamil poem. 

• Year of publication: 2016
• Price: ₹735
• Goodreads Rating :4.2
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Pages: 672 Pages

4. Moga Mul

One of the most renowned romance novels in Tamil literature, Moga Mul was written by Thi. Janakiraman. Divided into a massive number of 686 chapters , the book digs in deep into the swoon-worthy relationship of the leads. The movie based on the book won the National Award.

• Year of publication: 1980
• Price: ₹690
• Goodreads Rating : 4.1

5. Sivakamiyin Sabadham – Sivakami’s Vow

Another historical novel that is set in the seventh century, Sivakami’s Vow is written by the legend Kalki Krishnamurthy. It is considered one of the best books in Tamil literature. The book is based on the historical events chronicled during the life of Chalukya king Pulakesi II. It is a series divided into four parts.

• Year of publication: 1944
• Price: ₹425
• Goodreads Rating : 4.4
• Genre: Drama, General Fiction
• Pages: 686 pages

6. Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal

Penned by Jayakanthan, the book is the expanded form of a short story named Agnipravesam, published in 1968. The short story made a cultural impact with its storyline that includes a mother purifying her daughter after she had sex with a stranger. Readers suggested alternate endings. Following these suggestions, the novel was published.  It includes personal experiences from the author’s life.The book won Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972.

• Year of publication: 1970
• Price: ₹299
• Genre: Literary Fiction, Romance
• Pages: 448 pages

7. Kallikaattu Ithigaasam

Based on the theme of migration , this is another one of the acclaimed books of Tamil literature written by Vairamuthu. The reader journeys through the story of a farmer trying to make ends meet. The book traces how migration impacts the lives of people and how it can worsen people’s lives. If you are just getting started with reading tamil literature , then this is among the best tamil books to read for beginners.  

• Year of publication: 2001
• Price: $185
• Goodreads Rating :4.1
• Genre: Fiction
• Pages: 376 pages

The Tamil language has precious importance in Tamil Nadu. It has a deep connection with its culture, literature , and music and it has been used to deliver spiritual knowledge as well. In this article I have tried to suggest you some of the best tamil books to read. These are just some of the literary works that played a vital role in the education of people. Many authors have contributed a lot to non-fictional literature to enrich the literature and culture of Tamil Nadu, and with it, of the nation.

Frequently Added Questions 

Q1 who is the best tamil author.

Kalki Krishnamurthy (1899-1954) is considered to be one of the greatest writers in modern Indian literature. His most famous work is Ponniyin Selvan or Ponniyin Selvan which tells the story of a prince from southern India who goes on an adventure to find his true love after she is kidnapped by pirates. The novel also deals with other aspects of life during that time period including religion and politics.

Q2 Which is the first reputed novel in Tamil?

Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram is the first reputed novel in Tamil. The author was S.V. Pillai and it was published in 1879. Pillai wrote the book after being inspired by the onset and popularity of novels in western culture.

Q3 Where can I read Tamil books online?

Tamil books are available in many places online. Whether you want to read novels or nonfiction books, there are plenty of options for you. Here are some sites where you can find Tamil books online:

• Amazon Kindle Store
• Flipkart Books
• Google Play Books

Q4. Which are the Best tamil literature books ?

Here is the list of Top 5 Tamil Literature Books :

• Ponniyin Selvan
• Sivagamiyin Sapatham
• Solaimalai Ilavarasi
• Devagiyin Kanavan
• Mohini Theevu
• Niramatra Vanavil
• A Primer of Tamil Literature

Here are the best Tamil Books To Read

• Theeyaga Unnai Kanden
• Muthal Paarvaiyilae Ennai
• Yavana Rani
• Sivakamiyin Sabadham – Sivakami’s Vow
• Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal
• Kallikaattu Ithigaasam

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About the Author

Currently working as an Editor in Chief with Ankuraggarwal.in, he is managing all the ins and outs of the content management process and editorial operations. Having an experience of 8 years in the publishing/ e-solution industry, he manages a small freelancing team of fellow editors and has worked with several domains including academics, healthcare, lifestyle and technical writings. He is a stickler for accuracy and loves to read noir-fiction and binge-watch anthologies.

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The die is caste

Ilangovan rajasekaran looks at the ways caste operates in tamil nadu through accounts of inter-caste marriages that ended in “honour killings”..

Published : Jul 10, 2024 11:09 IST - 9 MINS READ

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Divya and Ilavarasan, a file photo. Ilavarasan, a Dalit youth from Dharmapuri, was found dead on July 4, 2013, months after he married Divya from the Vanniyar community against the wishes of her family. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives

“Honour killing is the crux of this book. But this is not a book on death; it is about life too. It does not stop with stating that an honour killing occurred. It raises questions about ‘why’ it happened, thereby exploring the many aspects of life surrounding it, from multiple perspectives. The book brings our attention to the contradiction of an individual with fellow citizens, the distance between our ideals and practical lives and the many masks we hide our real faces under. It is in Tamil Nadu, hailed as the land of social justice, that we find caste rising its monstrous head. It is not just alive, but it gobbles up lovers and bloats each day. I wish to emphatically communicate this enormous contradiction and the grave danger of caste monstrosity. None of us can shrug away this reality as happening someplace else, to someone else. Those killed might be strangers; but the murderer is caste—and we all know it.... Seeing parents who murdered their children because of this cantankerous disease of casteism left a deep scar in my mind. And that scar permeates this book.”

Saathiyin Peyaraal

Aaanava kolaigalin pathivu, kizhakku pathippakam, 2024, price: rs.260.

The above lines, from the journalist Ilangovan Rajasekaran’s book  Saathiyin Peyaral  (In the Name of Caste), are testimony to the fact that his journalism has also been a launch pad for his social activism.  Saathiyin Peyaral , a compilation of accounts of seven inter-caste marriages in Tamil Nadu that ended in “honour killings”, helps us understand the many ways in which caste operates in Tamil Nadu.

For instance, Ilangovan explains the Kausalya-Sankar case , where Sankar was hacked to death in 2016 by killers hired by Kausalya’s family: “According to them [the dominant caste], it was not a murder. It was a punishment. When one is levied a death sentence, it is customary to explain why it is enforced. The same is followed here as well: ‘You are allotted a space; you and yours should live there; but you have crossed that border. You have entered the space that belongs to our caste. Hence our honour is lost; your love and marriage have made us impure. Therefore, you deserve to die.’”

Saathiyin Peyaral is not just a study of honour killings in Tamil Nadu; it is a document of the history of the State in the last 40 years.  | Photo Credit: By Special Arrangement

The unwritten rule has to do with the transgression of caste: How could a Dalit youth, educated as an engineer, marry a dominant-caste girl? It is a social crime and death is the price he has to pay.

Murder is inadmissible as a social ethic. No society ever accepts it. But the toxin of casteism normalises it. This casteist attitude is an expression of the dominant caste’s inability to accept the changes in the lives of the oppressed sections of society. Caste turns anti-human and works against the ethics of life. It acts as a fascist frenzy. We can sense that in each of these honour killings. One becomes a monster when one kills one’s own child. The honour killings in Tamil Nadu are testimony to this social psychology.

Ilangovan’s narrative unpacks the modes of functioning of this social psychology. He elaborates on how the media reports such cases; how powerful caste organisations formed in the last three decades help execute the honour killings; how political parties that vie with each other for vote banks, and the police, entrusted with maintaining law and order, deal with these incidents. In the process, he exposes the ugly faces of many social systems at work.

Also Read | In the name of honour

Ilangovan also explores in parallel how patriarchy feeds the social psychology of caste, how it affects the Dalit man and the Dalit woman differently, and how gender equality is lost in this casteist psychology. The book helps the reader understand the social and psychological pressures of the Dalit communities, while also making the point that an honour killing is a crime committed because of social institutions and the social psychology driving these institutions.

The past three decades have seen an explosion of mass media. In television and popular print media, honour killings pass off as consumer goods, laced with hyper-emotional drama. Even as news channels report the “breaking news” of these murders, they offer no meaningful analysis or counter-discussions around them, or support or initiate any social activism beyond the headlines.

Ilangovan, on the other hand, has used the platforms provided by  The Hindu  and  Frontline  to hold detailed conversations on honour killings. For him, the murders are not “hot” news; they are a culmination of various caste dimensions in society. He exposes them boldly through his field-based studies. In doing so, the crassness of political parties, the government, the police and caste-based organisations also stand exposed. Through Ilangovan’s analysis, we become aware of the gimmicks various groups play to safeguard their own caste interests.

Social change is unavoidable. Today, technology has strengthened human relationships and rendered the feudal aspects of communication between man and woman obsolete. Hence the remnants of feudalism like caste have also lost their everyday hold. Practically, a man and a woman can interact with each other, transgressing their respective castes. Caste has no role to play in this communication. It becomes natural for young people in public spaces to express their feelings. But caste—a remnant of the feudal system—does not approve of this. There is no understanding of social development within casteist communities. That is why they resort to killing the young couple. Caste groups, government institutions, and other public systems too function within this context. Ilangovan’s work helps us understand this phenomenon with evidence.

The electoral social space in Tamil Nadu, like elsewhere, is based on vote banks. It has remained so from the 1950s to the 1990s in a covert way. The Dravidian parties that grew out of the tradition of self-respect based on social justice did not moot overt references to caste. With the advent of Ambedkar’s centenary, the Dalit movement, especially the one led by Thol. Thirumavalavan , has risen to newer heights. To counter that, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) shaped itself as the party of the Vanniyar caste group, which translates into a vote bank and restructures the mobilisation of caste-based communities . It has been proven that casteist associations were behind the murder in the Divya-Ilavarasan case of Dharmapuri.

Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu has been the bastion of the Maoist movement since the 1970s. Ilavarasan and Divya hailed from different castes but the communities themselves were not averse to inter-caste marriages. Divya’s father supported the Maoist ideology. But the newly emerging Vanniyar caste group converted the wedding of Divya and Ilavarasan into fodder for the vote bank. Disheartened, Divya’s father was driven to suicide. Cashing in on his death, Vanniyar caste groups set fire to three Dalit villages. Soon after, Ilavarasan was found dead. The two deaths were announced as suicides; the inquiry commissions formed by the government and the police took the word of the Vanniyar caste organisation as the “truth”.

If the Vanniyar caste organisation was the culprit in the Ilavarasan case, the Kongu Vellala Gounder organisation is responsible for the murder in the Gokulraj case . The case was handled by Vishnupriya, Deputy Superintendent of Police, a Dalit by birth. The caste group killed both Gokulraj and Vishnupriya, and projected their deaths as suicides. Thanks to the lawyer P.P. Mohan and his comrades, the Gounder caste group leader Yuvaraj was found to be guilty and is serving life imprisonment now.

By documenting in detail how these caste-based organisations are responsible for the honour killings, Ilangovan establishes how the feudal remnants of caste have transformed themselves into caste organisations and political parties that depend on them as vote banks. Honour killings, therefore, are not an issue of inter-caste marriages alone; they are the contemporary manifestations of caste organisations with political clout. The entire administrative system supports these activities. The commissions formed by the government, local khap panchayats and the police in particular, cover up these realities and make them seem like casual occurrences.

This book also lays bare the modes by which caste hierarchy and patriarchy intersect in honour killings. Of the seven cases discussed in the book, the majority of those murdered are women. In India, the murders of women in the name of caste purity strengthen the stranglehold of male chauvinism and patriarchy. Ilangovan painstakingly documents the facts to prove how the oppression of women plays its part in honour killings as well.

It is Dalits who are murdered in honour killings. Like in other caste atrocities, the lowest in the hierarchy gets affected the most. The book also registers how even within the marginalised castes, honour killings occur based on the hegemony of caste and class.

Also Read | A caste variant of love jehad vitiates social atmosphere in Tamil Nadu

Recounting Ilangovan’s mental state in his own words would not be out of place here:

“When the news of Ilavarasan’s body being found near the railway tracks reached me, it was like a huge rock that fell upon me. I had to reconfirm over and over if the news was actually true. My heart hoped against hope that it should not be true. I had met Ilavarasan just the day before, and spoken to him. His face filled my thoughts. His smile grew larger and larger and shook me.

I suffered sleeplessness for many days. I felt lost; there was a void in me. My usual self was gone; it was like something was grabbed away from me and I didn’t know what it was. It took me a long time to calm my mind and come out of that tragedy.”

This quote reminds us that a journalist should also be a humanist invested in the social good.  Saathiyin Peyaral  is not just a work on honour killings in Tamil Nadu; it is a document of the history of Tamil Nadu in the last 40 years. It reveals how the democratic process of elections depends on caste groups as vote banks. The caste organisations take society backwards. This work is a resource book for students of social history. It is a rare document of gender oppression and caste hierarchy in our social rubric. It is a must-read for all social activists. We owe our thanks and appreciation to Ilangovan Rajasekaran for writing this book.

There book also includes in the appendix the translation of an English article by Sowjanya Tamalapakula on inter-caste weddings among Dalits. It helps us understand the workings of caste, and its gender dimensions, among Dalits. Thanks to the lucid translation by Maruthan and Niveditha Louis, Saathiyin Peyaraal reads with the flow of an original Tamil work.

V. Arasu retired as Professor and Head of the Department of Tamil, University of Madras. He is currently the General Editor of Ambedkar’s Writings, to be published in 75 volumes by New Century Book House for the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The writer thanks A. Mangai for translating this review.

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Review of K. Hariharan’s Kamal Haasan — A cinematic journey : Chronicles of a quick-change artist Premium

A window into the soul of kamal haasan, the actor, filmmaker, technician and  bahurupi , through 40 out of about 260 films.

Updated - July 12, 2024 04:46 pm IST

Published - July 12, 2024 09:01 am IST

Actor Kamal Haasan | Photo Credit: R. Ravindran

At a recent press conference ahead of the launch of his sequel  Indian 2 , Kamal Haasan was asked a question that made his colleagues on stage with him smirk. Was he upset that though there were three pretty heroines in the film, he himself had no consort? Kamal raised the mic and answered with great assurance: “My consort in the film does not have to be a woman.” In that one sentence was buried a touchstone. Kamal revealed the consummate artist he is, his relationship with cinema, his philosophical approach to the medium, and that while he’s celebrated as a hero, his tango with the movies goes far beyond formulae and stereotypes.

That is what director and writer K. Hariharan captures in  Kamal Haasan: A Cinematic Journey . It’s not an easy task, but as a filmmaker with a deep understanding of politics, history and culture, he pulls it off by linking Kamal’s oeuvre in a single intelligible strand. Hariharan picks 40 films (from Kamal’s repertoire of about 260 films) and executes a contextual analysis, replete with references to world cinema, its masters, political theories, running parallel to real time events. That is the strength of this book; the craft of a chronicler to pick from a veritable smorgasbord to lay out on his charcuterie board a pick of the finest, though not necessarily the most popular, slices. This will then serve again as a window that opens into the soul of Kamal Haasan, the actor, filmmaker, technician, the  bahurupi , a quick-change artist who physically metamorphoses into many characters, in its fullest sense.

Kamal Haasan as a young boy about to make his mark in the movies. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Dramatic arrival

The book opens, appropriately, with aplomb, right in the middle of intense drama and the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the birth of Kamal. While Hariharan stays off the personal life of the star, he wraps the early years of Kamal and the influences of his immediate, liberal family, into a capsule that seeks to measure the heights he has since achieved. For someone who learnt, not formally or in schools, but from actors and directors-turned-mentors, from screen, from behind the camera, and from life, there now stands a man, a consummate entertainer, but more, a veritable  ashtavadhani  of multiple talents and achievements.

A still from Nayakan.

The trick would probably be that Kamal never considered his education was complete, with a degree or a school leaving certificate, neither of which he possesses. He is, therefore, constantly seeking to learn, to innovate, and to find joy in what he discovers. After a recent trip to China, he spoke with child-like awe of the revolution that was happening in the east with animator and film screening itself. At these points, he’s completely oblivious of his own achievements, his ability to inspire awe among compatriots.

K. Balachander (left) and Kamal Haasan. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

The storyteller

Kamal is the  sutradhar  in a sense, not only because this book is about him, but because the author relinquishes this role to him. He allows Kamal, and his movies, to hold together a nation and state in the throes of development, freed from the shackles of colonisers. In one chapter, while talking of the epoch-making collaboration between Kamal and his biggest mentor, K. Balachander, Hariharan leaves an indication of how he will be treating his subject and book: “The performance and conviction that builds the story’s characters are many times more important than the personal story and beliefs of the actors.” As mentor and protege plumbed the depths of film making, the author retrospectively strings together the social themes they explored, and the way they were handled. If the whirring celluloid projector alone were enough to cause a revolution, this consummate pair — Kamal and KB — would have dragged society by its ears into a more progressive, liberal matrix, with their caste-agnostic, and feminine themes, the portrayal of contrived human relationships, the deliberate casting of androgynous heroes and facilitating the redemption of rebel heroines. Behind the camera, the mask and face paint, were revolutionaries, marching to Bella Ciao, urging change in the urban, middle class households their movies were set in. All without, as Hariharan points out, diluting the tenets of mainstream entertainment.

A still from 16 Vayathinile .

Political turn

The book is rich with small stories that illustrate the prowess that Kamal holds, not just in acting, but in all aspects of filmmaking. The sharp way in which he detects that there was no film in the camera by merely observing the sound it was making, on the sets of  16 Vayathinile , for instance, is a hat tip to his phenomenal knowledge. While it stays away from Kamal’s later avatar as a politician, just as it skirts wide off his personal life, this book is a deliberate chronicle of the emergence of Kamal as a political animal, as if he had no other option, given his circumstances.

A poster of 1976 movie Manmadha Leelai | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Hariharan also summons equipoise to raise questions on motive, and technique, something the ardent movie watcher and fan, would probably dismiss in the realm of ‘willing suspension of disbelief’. For the cinephile, this is an unputdownable book, racy like the moments before the splendid transformation of the rather effeminate Kathak dancer Viz into the athletic spy Wizam Kashmiri, in  Vishwaroopam . By then, as the audience, we learn that Viz might actually be a Tamil Muslim, but nevertheless, that scene is remarkable. It’s another touchstone, a masterclass in acting. We’ve probably been rendered speechless multiple times, watching Kamal on screen, but Hariharan’s book is still a revelation.

A still from Vishwaroopam.

Kamal Haasan: A cinematic journey ; K. Hariharan, Harper Collins India, ₹699.

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