He sees a bright future for Tamil
Maharandan lets his pen do all the talking
Interviewer : Deepa H Ramakrishnan
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Maharandan has been chosen as a member of the general council of the Sahitya Akademi to represent Tamil from January 1, 2008. He will hold the post for five years
PUDUCHERRY: His answers to most questions are silent nods, while a smile lights up his face now and then.
This silent man lets his pen do the talking, and writing has led Maharandan alias I. Ganapathy to a position in the prestigious Sahitya Akademi. He has been chosen as a member of the general council of the Akademi to represent Tamil from January 1, 2008, and he will hold the post for five years.
“Tamil as a language refreshes itself time and again. Its recognition as a Classical Language has paved the way for the language to gain more glory across the globe. With more young blood falling in love with the language and poets and literary luminaries guiding them, I see a very bright future for Tamil,” says Maharandan, who is already charting out the things to do during his tenure.
“Tamil blogs needed”
Since Tamil is already on the worldwide web he wants to have blogs for writers and poets that could open new channels of discussion among them.
“There are hundreds of blogs in Tamil on the Internet, but we need to make more of them. This would also help rope in youngsters, who are net savvy into writing and appreciating the language,” he says.
The editor of Vallinam, a quarterly literary magazine that strives to popularize subaltern studies in Tamil, Maharandan has made it his life mission to work for the marginalised, with literature and social sciences as his tools.
“I feel that if power must reach those that are outside its purview such writings are necessary. We need people to read about such people in an anthropological view. We publish works of experts in the respective subjects,” he says.
Vallinam Publications has brought out four books on the marginalised, including the ‘Nomads in Tamil Nadu’, ‘Vilimbu Nilai Makkal Vazhakaarugal’ (Folklore of Marginalized – An Ethnographic Study), ‘Maanidaviyal Kotpaadugal’ (Theories in Anthropology) and ‘Aadhi Maruthuvar.
“We are now in the process of bringing out books on Tamil Kuravar and washermen. Both are ethnographic studies.”
Maharandan, who works as a PRO in the Department of Information and Publicity, made his foray into writing Tamil poetry in the 1990s.
His first publication was a collection of modern Tamil poems titled ‘Mann Kudhirai’ in 1995.
He has also penned short stories that have been published in newspapers, adapted a short story of France Kaffca into a modern Tamil play, and penned a play to commemorate the 50th year of Indian Independence.
