A set of books authored by former professor of English K. Natarajan, brought out by New Century Book House (NCBH) Pvt. Ltd., was released in the city on Sunday.
The Tamil books – ‘Indhiyargarlin Aangila Sirukathaigal’ (Indian English Short Stories), ‘Valluvarum Shakespearum’ (Valluvar and Shakespeare) and ‘Kaalaththai Vendra Kaathal Kavithaigal’ (Enduring Love Poems), ‘Tamilamudham’, ‘Mahakavi Bharathiyum Kavikkuyil Sarojiniyum’ (a comparative study of poets Subramania Bharathi and Sarojini Naidu) – are meant for students of literature.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Natarajan, who has worked in various government colleges for 35 years, said that it was essential for scholars and writers to explore the richness of world literature in greater depth.
“William Shakespeare, for instance, is a writer whose works are still studied because of the universal themes that he dealt with. Honour, chastity, virtue, honesty – these are big issues that he addresses in his works. In our context, Thiruvalluvar matches Shakespeare to an extent.”
Mr. Natarajan, who started anthologising learning texts for NCBH since 2005 (after his retirement), called ‘Valluvarum Shakespearum’ his magnum opus, as it took him 10 years to write, and uses rare source material on the Bard from British archives.
The function was presided over by R. Nallakannu, Senior Communist Party of India (CPI) leader, with introductory speeches by Shangmugham Saravanan, Managing Director, NCBH, ‘Tiruchi’ N. Siva, Member of Parliament, and other officials.
Natarajan has written 67 books in English and Tamil.
