Alleging that the critics of the Dravidian movement’s contribution to literature had no familiarity with the works of its authors, noted Tamil writer Imayam on Sunday said the movement had heralded the democratisation of writing in Tamil Nadu.
“Let them (critics) first read the works of the writers of the Dravidian movement. There is a feeling among many writers that reading the works of the Dravidian movement itself is a disqualification. While these writers focussed on individuals in their literary works, Anna, the founder of the DMK, famously said that it was his relationship with society that forced him to write. This is applicable to all the writers of the movement,” said Imayam, who won The Hindu Lit for Life-Tamil award for contemporary literature.
He also rejected the contention that literary works of the movement would not qualify as great literature as they were nothing but propaganda.
“All writing is propaganda. We convey our ideas so that others will listen. Is it not propaganda? In the case of the Dravidian movement, it was the writers who launched a social and political movement,” he said.
“They democratised writing and their works were in the language of common man, clearly dispensing with other languages that were an integral part of writing before,” added Mr. Imayam, whose literary works poignantly portray the lives of mahadalits and the ugly face of casteism.
Literary evolution
Pattukottai Prabhakar, who writes in widely read magazines, said such publications paved the way for the evolution of literature and even many of Jayakanthan’s great stories were first published or serialised in these magazines. “They remained a popular medium before the advent of satellite channels and encouraged people to read, with their content catering to every section of society. It also gave great reach to writers and offered them money unthinkable in the Tamil milieu,” Mr. Prabhakar said.
National award winning film director Vetrimaran, who delineated the difficulties of translating literary works into film, said more often than not, film directors are not able to capture the inner voice of the writer.
“While many classic literary works have failed to find expression as great movies, pulp fiction has resulted in exceptional films. A director always faces pressure in converting a book into a film. If the writer understands the medium of cinema and gives full liberty to the director, it will be a great film,” he said.
Writer Su. Venugopal, who spoke on regional influences in writing, said even Pudumaipithan and Jayakanthan had dialects in their writings.
“A dialect or usage unique to a region has a story behind its birth. The writer has a deep knowledge of the flora and fauna and it can be illustrated by the fact that Kamban had come to the conclusion that the first offspring of a peacock was always male. In my experience, the first chick of the brood has always been a male,” he said.
