Just as I have started reading Jayakantan’s Oru Manidan, Oru Veedu, Oru Ulagam – (translated roughly as ‘a man, a house, a world) highly recommended by my mother, I saw this piece on the prolific writer in Indian Express. The writer of possibilities – has recently won the Jnanpith Award – for the year 2002 (uh?).
I remember watching Sila Nerangalil Sila Manidargal as a teenager and being moved by the story. Easily one of his best novels – made into a movie – had a scintillating performance by Lakshmi. The protagonist is seduced (raped?) as a young woman and takes on the world and her orthodox family and goes on to make friends with her seducer. Her ‘cleansing’ happens not with the gangajalam – her mother sprinkles liberally on her head – but through her interactions with her violater… Sensibilities way ahead of their times – for the seventies, and even for now.
Amit Varma has written about this piece in IE and laments about regional language works never seeing the light of day among a larger audience for lack of translators. And I say, lack of interest too among publishers… ? Or is it that there is no audience for English translations of regional works?
Badri, are you listening?
Note : Amit has further updates on his post – seek and you shall find. As a fervent seeker and non finder, I have to say that even original publications – never mind translations – have become hard to come by – in the last week or so in Madras I have been to a number of small publishing houses around T nagar and have only heard – not in stock – as stock reply…
I am amazed that young people read Jayakanthan and think and write about his books! I am happy that this fine author is being discussed, by youngsters.(well,most of the bloggers from India atleast seem young). He wrote when we were growing up and shaped a lot of our thinking process.
“Or is it that there is no audience for English translations of regional works?”
Forget about an audience for translated works – In my opinion many regional authors, in tamil mainly, are gradually losing their regional audience itself. The young people of today try to ape the west not just in the music they listen to and the clothes they sport ; but even in the kinda books they read. I remember being the laughing stock among my peers in college, because I was obsessed with Sivashankari’s and Sujatha’s,while they devoured Sidney Sheldons and John Grishams. Though there’s a sector of audience that still enjoys regional writing, the readership is far lesser than what it was a decade ago.