What’s inside…

Isai Medhaigalin Vaazhvil 100 Suvaiyana Nigazhchigal

Saadhiyam – Kai Koodadha Needhi (Kalachuvadu Publications, 669, K.P. Road, Nagercoil 629 001 (ph: 4652 278525); Rs. 120).

This is a collection of essays authored by Stalin Rajangam, published in various journals such as Kalachuvadu, Pudhiya Kaatru, Pudhiya Poonguyil and so on. The focus here is the Dalit community and the way it has been exploited by politicians. The writer adopts a lucid style to discuss issues that are coloured by casteism and hence lose their perspective. Justice, police, government… Rajangam spares none in his clinically analysed essays.

Penn Kalvi Penn Maanam – Mayuram Vedanayakam Pillai (Chellappa Pathippakam, Madurai (ph: 2345971), Rs. 60).

If Bharati does it through his songs, Pillai does it through his prose. He lays stress on women’s education, empowerment and independence. Ironically, the refrain has not changed two centuries later. The plight of widows, as he describes it, is moving. The diction and style are unique, nevertheless fluent but eminently readable. And absolutely relevant to this age.

Isai Medhaigalin Vaazhvil 100 Suvaiyana Nigazhchigal – Ganga Ramamurthi (Ganga Puthaka Nilayam, Rs 55).

Anecdotes about celebrities are eternally readable. This slim volume has short accounts touching upon the lives of legendary musicians, all stalwarts. They include Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar, Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan, Tirukkodikaval Krishna Iyer, Maharajapuram Visvanatha Iyer, Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar and so on.