In what could be a treat for Tamil literature buffs, The Hindu Lit for Life Tamil will make its debut at Sir Mutha Concert Hall, Lady Andal School, Chetpet, on January 7.
The launch comes at a time when the Tamil short story is celebrating its centenary year and the festival’s theme is centred around the fascinating aspects of Tamil short stories over the past 100 years.
To be inaugurated at 9.30 a.m., the festival will have author and theatre personality Na. Muthuswamy as the guest of honour and the first session will see writers Prapanchan and S. Ramakrishnan discuss ‘100 years of Tamil Short Stories: Moments, Achievements, Future’.
“As The Hindu Tamil newspaper enters its fifth year, we wanted to give more primacy to Tamil literature. The Hindu Lit for Life has been inclusive and discussed the trends in the literature of various Indian languages in its sessions,” said Nirmala Lakshman, Director of The Hindu Lit for Life and Director of The Hindu Group.
In the past, the literary festival has had sessions on various languages, including Tamil, Malayalam, Urdu and Kannada. To strengthen the idea of more representation to Tamil literature, The Hindu Lit for Life Tamil will be held as a run-up to the The Hindu Lit for Life scheduled to be held from January 14. It also would continue to have separate sessions for Tamil literature, she said.
The day-long festival will throw light on various interesting aspects of Tamil short stories.
K. Asokan, Editor of The Hindu Tamil, said renowned writer Indira Parthasarathy will present The Hindu Tamil Emerging Writers Awards in the evening. “Six awards have been instituted to honour writers who excelled in various genres. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to writer and theatre personality Indira Parthasarathy. This award comes with a cash prize of ₹5 lakh,” he said.
Writer Imaiyam will be presented with the ‘Jayakanthan award’ for representing the lives of the oppressed and downtrodden sections of society through his works. While Damayanthi will be given the ‘Bharathi’ award, Keeranur Jakirraja will be presented the ‘Inquilab award.’ Writers Ramanujam and Sayanthan are the recipients of the ‘A.K. Chettiyar award’ and ‘Pramil’ award respectively. Each award will have a cash prize of ₹1 lakh. For details, log on to http://www.thehindulfl.com
