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Book Review
Memorable interviews
KALAINGNAR MUDAL KALAPRIYA VARAI — Subhamangala Interviews: Collected by Komal Swaminathan and Ilayabarati; Narmada Padhippakam, 16/7, Rajabather Street, Pondy Bazaar, T.Nagar, Chennai-600017. Rs. 300.
WHEN A Tamil book of high standard moves to its second edition within five years, the event proves that Tamil literature is very much on the wing. Subhamangala, piloted by Komal Swaminathan, created history. The vigorous interviews, presented by the magazine, remain memorable. One of the reasons was that the interviewers were not afraid of asking inconvenient queries. A greater charm lay in the interviewees seeking to answer the questions with a sense of purpose. It is good to know that the best among Tamil writers (also musicians, painters, dancers) do not hem and haw. There is no tension in these interviews. Everybody seems to be relaxing in their slippers, creating a tranquil atmosphere, as "Kalaignar" Karunanidhi is on the cover or Subbudu with his fist raised, ready for a smiling attack.
It is refreshing to know that there are writers who prefer to guard their independence and self-respect even if it means giving up an enviable job in a plush magazine. Prabhanjan's experiences are thus a stream that began long ago when Kalki had to walk out of an editorial chair. Most of the answers are satisfying and some winkingly self-deprecatory (Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer), while there are a few statements that make us retire into the gray folds of meditation.
What exactly does S. Kandaswamy mean when he says "Literature does not need language at all"? Mr. Karunanidhi himself makes us wince when he gives examples of what he considers as humour. However, the interviews are informative, no end. Some conclusions are possible if one considers the data in the answers. Thus one finds a defensive attitude when writers speak of "new verse"; realism is the reigning monarch of the day; leftist sympathies need not be regarded as Dalitist; writers tend to gravitate to a metropolis, probably because the area affords elbow-room for "tact and contact"; and erotics is not unoften elevated into aesthetics.
Since Subhamangala did not posit any preferences, all shades of writers and creative artists find a place here and sometimes there are writers from opposite lines clashing with verbal cannonades. Interesting flashes on the comparative superiority of genres (traditional poetry and free verse, for instance) streak the interviews while Neela Padmanabhan suggests that such a compartmentalising of imagination is no more than wishful thinking: "No ism dies in the world of creativity. As one rises from another, you could say that there is a transmutation. If such transmutation is described as the death of an earlier work, it would mean that no creative art can remain with us in its eternal youth."
Tamil writers from Sri Lanka get introduced in a big way — S. Ponnudurai, S. Yoganathan, C. Maunaguru, and K. Sivathambi. Women (Vaasanthi, Sivasankari, Saraswathi Ramnath) have given meaningful inputs as well. Going beyond Tamil literature, we have M. T. Vasudevan Nair confessing that writing gives him the jitters even today, though he has achieved phenomenal success in Malayalam literature. U. R. Ananthamurthi takes us to the fascinating world of Kannada writing and divides Indian society as the Brahministic (which includes all the four Varnas) and Dalit. Yet, the origin of Dalit literature in Karnataka is traced back to Shivarama Karanth's Chomana Dudi.
Since the interviews were meant to introduce creative artistes and journalists we have a few of them sharing their thoughts with us like Padma Subrahmanyam (Bharatanatyam), P. Krishnamurthy (painter) and N. Ram (editor). Kalapriya (T. K. Somasundaram) brings up the rear and defends his writings saying he has all the weaknesses and bad habits that he writes about. There are no lacklustre pages in this work edited with care by Ilayabharati. Dr. Sivathambi's speech in 1996 at Colombo to mark the first death anniversary of Komal Swaminathan has been included as an afterword. A thoughtful gesture from an enterprising editor.
PREMA NANDAKUMAR
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