Translations

Original Source: https://www.jeyamohan.in/197250/ Date: 23-Mar-2024 The short-stories collection "Padaiyal" is a historical fiction like that of "Aayiram Ootrukkal".  They are stories from the period of Nayaks - Marathas. I am writing this article to explain about why such historical fictions are written, how to approach them and the relationship between these fictions and history. All of us have this hallucination that history is an absolute entity like a thing that exists and that it comprises of truths that have been entirely established. Because, we read history as such in our institutions. History is a discussion forum. But it is provided as a collection of information. Only when we realize that historiography is an ideological space where myriad histories are written, can we proceed with further discussion. Ancient communities like India are deeply rooted in ancient historiography. Modern historiography is two centuries old here. Modern historiography is taugh...

Original Source: https://www.jeyamohan.in/197147/ Date: 22-Mar-2024   Respected Mr. Jeyamohan, I recently read your short stories collection Aayiram Ootrukkal. When I intended to buy one of your short stories collection, the categorization based on Travancore's royal family was easier to choose. I was interested in Travancore's reign and its kings and queens. It is my view that the image of India's history is never complete without considering princely states' histories.    The few books I have come across till now about the kings of princely states would either paint a caricature or would heap praise. I had considered Travancore to be different, with a several of these kings being adept at arts like music and painting. I had discussed this with my friends in amazement, which is the reason to choose this book easily. Apart from the kings, information about important figures like Dhalavaai Veluthambi, Padmanabhan Nambi and Maavingal Krishnapillai that's present in th...

Original Source: https://www.jeyamohan.in/197353/ Date: 21-Aug-2024   "Indiraneelam" is the second creation in Venmurasu novel portraying the story of Krishna. That way, it is rooted in Bhagavatham, outside of Mahabharatha. The Krishna of Mahabharatha is not a god, rather a great king possessing wisdom and worldly intuition in equal measure. It is only via external addendums that the portions establishing Krishna as a god got integrated in Mahabharatha. Bhagavatham is a creation that happened post the time when Krishna became a god. Is is therefore Bhagavatham and not Mahabharatha, that stands as a primary scripture for many Vaishnavaite traditions. During the creation of Venmurasu, I had a conundrum on how to depict Krishna. In several re-creations of Mahabharatha, Krishna is depicted solely as a king. In some of the creations, Krishna is depicted as a mere political strategist stripping Him of any wisdom. Example is M.T.Vasudevan Nair's "Irandaam Oozham" (...

  Original Source: https://www.jeyamohan.in/197118/ Date: 8-Mar-2024   In the 2 berths only first class cabin of the train, there was an old lady in front. Quite a fair complexioned one. Reddish brown hair. Countenance resembling a white lady. A rosary in hand. Had she applied eye liner? Maybe. No lipsticks on lips, as there was hardly any lip. Mouth akin to a bloody scar. Eyes like a green pale pebble.  With sunken eyes, seeing me with suspicion, she continued her prayers. After placing my suitcase, I noticed. She wasn't praying. Though she had rosary in her hand, it was not being rotated. she was caressing the same bead. Eyes spied on me. When I saw, she turned away. "Good evening", I greeted. "Praise the lord", she mentioned viewing the glass window. I concluded her to be proselytizer kind. I thought of ways for creating defenses. I have found that acting like a counter proselytizer usually has the instant effect. I constructed the sentences. "Kali is a ...

Original Source: https://www.jeyamohan.in/200919/ Date: 21-May-2024   Dear J, To what extent is the premise of 'Padukalam' realistic? You write this as a thriller. Generally, thrillers take place in a context we hardly know - like Underworld, Police etc. When it is set in a known context, question arises over its credibility. I am asking this because I too hail from Tirunelveli. Krishnamurthy   Dear Krishnamurthy, In Tamil milieu, those who have written something are usually the ones that are required to explain it. I have been keenly watching the fiction space from world over; not sure whether anyone else has that interest. Most of them have formed an opinion through the residual information available here and there. It can also be said that most of them are deprived of a lifestyle amenable for constant reading. Even in Europe, reading literature is drifting away from being a social event. It is the self help books which reign both in readership and sales. Literature is reduc...

Original Source: https://www.jeyamohan.in/2760/ Date: 27-Feb-2017 Republished. Originally published on 26-May-2009   Dear Jeyamohan Sir, How do you do? I too am a firm believer in non-violence and gandhism like you. I may have inherited it from my family. My grandfather participated in Indian independence movement. He had participated in toddy shop picketing, Quit India Movement and had been imprisoned. We have been devoted nationalists as long as I know.  You would be knowing about the news articles published in the online version of Dinamani about the recent happenings in Sri Lanka. Comments from readers were also published and I had also written my comments. In reply, I was scolded and advised by many. India as a nation state was questioned and criticized in those online comments. Several people stated that non-violence cannot lead to independence. Many insisted that Gandhi was an impostor. Participants of that discussion praised Nethaji and announced that Prabhakaran was o...