Author: Sundara Ramaswamy
Editor(s): Lakshmi Holmstrom
Publisher: Katha
Year: 2003
Language: English
Pages: 255
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8187649992
Description
Sundara Ramaswamy is one of the most verstile and innovatory of contemporary Tamil writers. The striking thing about his career as a short story writer is that it is in two halves; those stories that he wrote from 1951 to 1966, and those which he wrote after 1973. This collection is a representative of his writings from both the periods.
Ever a stylist, employing a language that’s consciously crafted, shorn of rhetoric but brimming with satire, parody, humour and metaphor, Sundara Ramaswamy, popularly known as SuRaa, is arguably the finest writer writing in Tamil today. His novel JJ: Sila Kurippugal (JJ: Some Jottings) is seen as a major watershed, a rupture in the narrative tradition of Tamil fiction in its form and content, and the studied mastery and lapidary precision of its language.
Strongly influenced by the Progressive Literary Movement, SuRaa’s early short stories reveal a deep compassion for the underdog, without compromising on artistic excellence.
Apart from three novels, SuRaa has written over sixty short stories and many incisive article and essays on society and culture.
REVIEWS
When all else fails, there’s silence.
SuRaa is one of India’s finest writers.
Nuanced writing, translated superbly by a host of translators and edited by Lakshmi Holmstrom.
SuRaa scintillates.
-U R Anantha Murthy
Contents
Introduction
Window
The Flame in the Painting
Prasadam
Heifer
Belief
Sita Brand Soapnut Powder
True Love
Life
Our Teacher
Caprice
Regret
Essences
Alternate Presence
Intoxication
Words Addressed to an Army Commander-in-Chief
Waves
Who Are You?
The Hollow
Disappearing Eyes
A Day With My Father
Reflowering
In Search of Flowers
Crows
That’s It, But
My Novels
Children, Women, Men
Critical Views