After running into trouble with the right-wing forces in December 2014 for writing a novel Mathorubhagan , acclaimed Tamil writer Perumal Murugan returned to his literary passion by releasing a collection of 200 “secret poems” on Monday.
As conservative religious groups and right-wing activists mounted intense pressure on him calling his novel blasphemous, Mr. Murugan was compelled to migrate from his native Namakkal town. Mr. Murugan, who is known for maintaining a distance from media and literary festivals, responded to the controversy with a heartbreaking Facebook post, in which he said, ““Author Perumal Murugan is dead. He is no God. Hence, he will not be resurrected. Hereafter, only P. Murugan, the teacher, will live.” With the Madras High Court quashing blasphemy charges against him in a historic judgement, Mr. Murugan is now free to write.
But at the launch of his collection of poems here at Teen Murti Library, Mr. Murugan came across a man who still hasn’t reconciled with the adversity he recently faced. While speaking to novelist Nilanjana Roy, he said he was conflicted about what form of writing he should adopt in future.
“Most of my writings, thus far, have been written in a realist mode,” said Mr. Murugan, “I doubt if I can continue to write in future in a realist mode. I might have to resort to other techniques [of story telling]. I will think it through. Only time will tell what I write in future.”
Mr. Murugan read some lines of his poetry and addressed the packed auditorium. Appreciating the High Court judgement that now allows him to “advance the canvas of his writings”, he said: “The last word of the [High Court] verdict—‘write’—sounds to me both as a command and as a benediction.”
Mr. Murugan said that the threats of the right-wing forces and a legal ordeal have put him in a situation where he feels a “censor is seated” inside him. “He (the censor) is testing every word that is born within me. His constant caution that a word may be misunderstood so, or it may be interpreted thus, is a real bother,” he added.
