On a sunny autumn morning, the Gothic-hall of the iconic century-old Nilgiri Library resonated with cheers as writer Perumal Murugan received his Lifetime Achievement Award for fostering literary arts and culture in Tamil Nadu. It was the opening day of the 7th edition of the Ooty Literary Festival.
In a conversation that followed, Perumal Murugan shared how he turned author. “Introduction to magical realism, feminism, Dalit writings and post-modernism of the 1990s in literature brought in layered-writing in Tamil. It affected my writing style too. Though realistic narration was considered obsolete, I chose to tread my own path in this style,” he said adding that his mentors, professors Srinivasan and Raja Durai , and poet Sukumaran moulded him as a writer.
Throwing light on how translations have opened up regional writing, he recalled poring over Tamil translations of Russian literature in the 1980s. “The beauty of the steppes is still so fresh in my memory. You realise that human emotions are the same everywhere. With my works being translated in German and Czech now, it gives me hope that language is no longer a barrier for writers. Local, ethnic issues have global appeal now.”
