Category: Literature

Tamil Literature’s modern pioneers of short story Remembering TMC Raghunathan, heir to Pudumaipithan The Thirties, when the Freedom Movement was at its height there arose a new Tamil literary movement, commonly called, the “Manikodi” group of writers. This group, as we can see now, is heir to the nationalist poet, Subramanya Bharati’s soul stirring nationalist…

How literature shapes nations and peoples? The immediate provocation for writing this piece, however, came my way unexpectedly. First, the latest issue of The Economist magazine carried a page in the “Books and Arts” section a brief writeup on The Abbey Theatre, Dublin. For those who may not know anything about this historic institution ,…

Va.Ra (Va.Ramasamay Iyengar) The inventor of modern Tamil prose style Va.Ra (a biography) by Chitty (pages 336) An Ordinary Man, life of Chitty by Narasiah (pages 224) My interest in Tamil literature lately has been triggered off by a series of unexpected developments. Just not long ago I received ,unexpectedly, a long, some 15 page…

Salem in Tamil Nadu seems to be emerging as a centre for Tamil literary centre. May be Salem citizens might even claim they are already in this position! Salem in Tamil Nadu seems to be emerging as a centre for Tamil literary activities. May be Salem citizens might even claim they are already in this…

America a superpower. American literature not supreme! In any standard anthology of English literature or world literature there is no chapter, not even a honourable mention of American literature! Why? A question that should engage Indian writers in English as well as those who write in Indian languages which have ancient literatures and literary traditions….

How literature shapes nations and peoples? provocation for writing this piece, however, came my way unexpectedly. First, the latest issue of The Economist magazine carried a page in the “Books and Arts” section a brief writeup on The Abbey Theatre, Dublin. For those who may not know anything about this historic institution, the readers of…

Every two weeks a language disappears I read the other day a column by Mr.H.Y.Sharadaprasad,the longtime press secretary to Indira Gandhi. The title of the article is: what is the future for Indian languages? He was writing about the Kannada language and literature. Kannada language, among the Indian languages, is considered (by Kannada enthusiast at…

A great French writer philosopher 1964 on October 22, Jean-Paul Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, but he declined it. In his novels, essays, and palys, Sartre advanced the philosophy of existentialism, arguing that each individual must create meaning for his or her own life, because life itself had no innate meaning. Sartre…