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Contemporary Lankan Tamil short stories

Lately I have stopped reading fiction in general and Tamil fiction in particular. This is because they do not give me aesthetic satisfaction. While their content is realistic with a sociological or political stance, the form or structure in these stories written by Lankan Tamil writers of younger generation lack the finesse or organic design.

[Contemporary writers featured]

* Theniyan (a senior writer)

* Thaadchayani

* Aanadamayil (another senior writer)

* A. S. A. Ubaithulla

* Nelomi

* Kamalini Sivanathan

* Sivanu Manoharan

* Thamilpriya

*Vathiri E. Irajes Kannan

* Yogeswari Sivapragasam

* Dickwella Sapwan

* Bhavani Sivakumaran

* Pulolyoor K. Guhanayaki

* Aananthi (another senior writer)

* Pramila Selvarajah

* T. Kalamani (another senior writer)

This was due to the need of the hour then, 1970s and 1980s where Marxian approach to indigenous literature was stressed. In the process much attention was paid to content than form.


Pulolyoor A. Ratnavelone

But Marxian approach was a valuable contribution in identifying social imbalances and the then prevalent social issues. However the form or structure in creative writing was paid little attention and even ignored. This resulted in mere propaganda literature that fell short of artistic merit.

Nevertheless as a creative writer in Tamil (short stories and new poetry) and a participant of literary movements in this country I chose to apply the then prevalent ‘practical criticism’ influenced by F. R. Leavis and I. A. Richards and other western literary critics like T. S. Eliot mode of literary criticism in my columns in both Tamil and English.

Such columns analyzing the Lankan Tamil short stories were assembled into two volumes. The Lankan Tamil short stories as represented in short story collections between 1950 and 1990 were analyzed taking into consideration the form as well.

But as if to compensate for my disregard for the contemporary writers in Tamil partly due to the exhaustion of reading a plethora of short story collections in Tamil in recent times, another writer and critic has brought out two books of critical introduction to Lankan Tamil short stories since the millennium commenced.

The writer and critic is Pulolyoor A. Ratnavelone who is kind enough to proclaim that he practises literary column writing in the way I have done so far. In other words the baton in the relay of literary advancement is taken over by him.

I thank him for that while welcoming the current methods of literary criticism as practised by other critics following the post-structuralism and all that.

Ratnavelone’s second book in the series was launched March 28 at the WERC (Women’s Educational and Research Centre) at Wellawatta. Yours truly was also a speaker at the launch.

Several well known writers and media people including a large number of women were present.

The launch was presided by Kokila Mahendran a leading literary figure among other credentials. Thayaparan, a writer and critic, was the other speaker.

Senior writer Theliwatte Joseph and David Raju, a senior journalist and presently an adviser to the Thinakural, also spoke.

The title of his second book in the series is Anamaik Kala Aruvadaihal (The Recent Harvests). This is a fine book as it serves as a reference book on the contemporary Tamil short fiction evaluating 20 collections written very recently. Most of the writers astonishingly are women.

This is encouraging as some are from the North and the East who underwent a traumatic onslaught during the recently concluded 30-year war.

The book is partly literary history, and partly critical introduction and observation on writers and their writing, It is very useful to High School students, undergraduates, writers and literary critics and academics together.

Ratnavelone has analyzed most of the stories found in each author’s collection, though it may not be comprehensive or exhaustive.

What are the themes of the stories have got to be explained in another piece in this column sometime later.

Besides the collection of these 18 writers, four other collections too had been taken to consideration.

These four are compiled by others and not by respective individual writers. Unavoidably stories of people mentioned above are found in these four collections. They are:

1. A London based organization called Poobala Ragangal in their 2007 edition of competetive 13 short stories.

2. Karu Muhil Thaandum Nilavu (Moonshile Rising Above Dark Clouds) contains 12 stories. This book is compiled by Dr T Gnaseketran

3. Pasi Adanga Irulil Irunthu Onpathu Kathaikal (nine stories from the Darkness of Hunger). This book consists of stories written by Arts Faculty Students of the University of Yaalpaanam

4. Kanaga Senthi Katha Viruthu Petta Siru Kathaikal (short stories that received the Kanaga Senthi Awards). The late Kanaga Senthilnathan was a belle-lettrist and a major literary figure in the 1940s and 1950s and 1960s.

 

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