31 Jan 2010

Dasavataram

Some guys have claimed they haven't understood chaos theory which plays such an important part in the film. As a physics student, I've decided to explain it a bit so that people can appreciate the brilliance of the film.
.
What is Chaos?
Basically a chaotic system is one wherein long term predictions are impossible. Like for example, if I push a car, I know that it is going to move and it will continue to do so if I go on pushing it on and on. However, in a chaotic system, this situation cannot be predicted over a long period of time. Weather, for example, is a chaotic system. No matter how good your instruments are, you simply cannot predict the weather with 100 per cent accuracy over a long term basis and forecast it.
.
What is the Butterfly Effect?
It is the most important component of a chaotic system. Basically, small perturbations results in amplifications which completely destroys the original nature of the system and makes prediction impossible. If a butterfly flaps its wings in Africa, it could result in a cyclone in USA. (Mark the word COULD.) A highly dumbed down explanation of the butterfly effect is in the film Anniyan, where Vikram's sister dies because a liquor shop owner sells liquor on a dry day.
.
OK, how does Dasa incorporate it?
.
In essence, Dasa talks about eight characters who are inconsequential as such, but are integrated in a larger picture. Without Bush, the plane would have been called back. Without Shinghen, Govind would be dead. Without the tsunami, the world would have been destroyed. Even Krishnaveni (the old woman) plays a very important role. If she had not put the vial in the idol, maybe Govind would have recovered it then and there and a powerful weapon would have been unleashed. The very fact that it went into the idol meant that it was being accelerated to its destiny. Without Kaifulllah Khan, Govind would have never escaped... the list simply goes on.
.
OK, so does the film talk about theism or atheism?
.
Neither. It talks about how humans drive the destiny of the world.
.
The idol that is drowned in the sea along with Rangarajan in 12th century by Chozha king results in a fault being developed at the bottom of the ocean and creates tremors more than 800 years later. These tremors result in the Tsunami. This again is a classic case of Butterfly Effect wherein a seemingly inconsequential event (the drowning of the idol) saves Tamil Nadu from being wiped off the face of the earth.
.
Now tell me, does THIS movie lack a story? This movie has the most beautiful story ever attempted in Indian cinema. Unfortunately, Indian viewers and critics are obsessed with the "boy meets girl" and "revenge" themes, so they fail to see the story in this master piece.
.
AN INTERESTING THEORY ON DASAVATHARAM ROLES
.
If you knew the real dasavatharams of Lord Vishnu and their characters you can appreciate the script more. Let me explain, starting with the best adapted role:
.

1. Krishna avatar - Vincent Poovaraghavan

Lord krishna is actually a dalit, he is dark-skinned [shyamalam]. He saved draupadi when she was being violated and he was the actual diplomat in mahabharatham. Lord krishna dies of an arrow striking his lower leg. Now look at how vincent was introduced.. he appears when asin is about to be molested and he saves her like draupadi. Vincent is the dalit diplomat, fights for land issue [soil issue to be exact] and dies from the metal rod striking his leg. Oh even five of vincent's men are drugged at P. Vasu's.. sounds familiar???
.

2. Balarama avatar - Balarama naidu

This is an easy given. as the name suggests and the role personifies you can easily get it.
.
3. Mathsya avatar - Ranagaraja nambi
nambi is thrown into water in an act of trying to save lord from being thrown into sea, though vainly. what more clue do you want? Lord VISHNU in this manner saved his True Devotees from dissolution so as to hand down divine knowledge and saved the VEDAS from destruction so as ensure CREATION after the DISSOLUTION. here Ranagaraja nambi tried to save Vishnu and they believe he had...
.
4. Varaha avatar - Krishnaveni paatti
During the mukunda song, krishnaveni paatti does varaha avatar in the shadow puppetry. The frame freezes on it for a second. there is the clue. Moreover, in varaha avatar lord actually hides earth so as to protect life forms. Here too krishnaveni hides the germs - life form inside the statue so as to protect.
.
5. Vamana avatar - Kalifulla khan
remember in vamana avatar, lord vishnu takes the vishvaroopa, that is the giant form! Hence the giant kalifulla here symbolises vamana avatar.
.

6. Parasurama avatar - Christian Fletcher

Parasurama is actually on an angry killing spree and killed 21 generations of the particular kshatriya vamsa. Hence the real KILLER... Guess what: that’s what our Fletcher is! He comes around with the gun [modern upgrade for axe] and kills everyone around. I have to check if he kills 21 people though.
.
7. Narasimha avatar - Shingen Narahashi
first of all the name itself is a play on the words singam [means lion in tamil] and narasimha [the avatar being symbolised]. Lord Narasimha manifests himelf to kill the bad guy and he also teaches prahaladha. In the movie, he shows up to kill the killer fletcher! and is also a teacher.. Lord Narasimha had to kill the asura with bare hands and hence the martial arts exponent here.. get it?
.

8. Rama avatar - Avatar Singh

Lord Rama stands for the one man one woman maxim, kind of symbolising true love.. Here Avatar portrays that spirit by saying that he loves his woman more than anything and wants to live for her.
.
9. Kalki avatar - Govindaraj Ramasamy
As you know, the hero in kaliyug can be none other than the Kalki avatar!!!
.

10. Koorma avatar - Bush

This is the most loose adaptation I couldn't clearly comprehend. But if you look at the real koorma avatar, the lord is the turtle/tortoise that helps in stirring the ksheera sagara and bringing out the amruth. This essentially creates war among the devas and asuras. Similarly today Bush facilitates war between (you know whom)... May be Kamal also indicates that this avatar is a bit dumb like the tortoise ...
.

Note: This mail was forwarded by a friend. It originally came from this e-mail – rmogana@localbasic.com.my. My thanks to that person. – Uthaya Sankar SB

Filem Tamil Wajib Tonton

Selepas menonton filem Tamil Aayirathil Oruvan (arahan Selvaraghavan; 2010) pada 19 Januari 2010, saya yakin bahawa masih ada harapan untuk menyaksikan kelahiran filem-filem Tamil bermutu yang sesuai dijadikan santapan minda khalayak intelek.

.

Maka, pada keesok hari, saya cuba menyenaraikan filem-filem Tamil (mulai tahun 2000) yang layak dianggap “wajib tonton” bagi penggemar filem mencabar minda dan memenuhi selera intelek.

.

Senarai itu saya paparkan di Facebook pada 20 Januari 2010 untuk dikongsikan bersama rakan-rakan. Saya dokumentasikan di sini sebagai rujukan hari tua. Saya juga memasukkan sedikit maklumat tambahan.

.

Tentu sahaja senarai filem-filem Tamil 2000-2009 ini merupakan pilihan “wajib tonton” peribadi saya dan tidak mewakili “selera” mana-mana pihak lain.

.

Filem: Alaipayuthey

Tahun: 2000

Pengarah: Mani Ratnam

Penulis: Mani Ratnam & R. Selvaraj

Pelakon: Madhavan, Shalini

Pemuzik: A. R. Rahman

.

Filem: Barathi

Tahun: 2000

Pengarah: Gnana Rajasekharan

Penulis:

Pelakon: Sayaji Shinde, Devayani

Pemuzik: Ilayaraja

.

Filem: Hey Ram

Tahun: 2000

Pengarah: Kamal Haasan

Penulis: Kamal Haasan & Manohar Shyam Joshi

Pelakon: Kamal Haasan, Shah Rukh Khan

Pemuzik: Ilayaraja

.

Filem: Mugavari

Tahun: 2000

Pengarah: V. Durai

Penulis: Balakumaran

Pelakon: Ajith Kumar, Jyothika

Pemuzik: Deva

.

Filem: Snegithiye

Tahun: 2000

Pengarah: Priyadarshan

Penulis:

Pelakon: Jyothika, Tabu

Pemuzik: Vidyasagar

.

Filem: Aalavandhan

Tahun: 2001

Pengarah: Suresh Krishna

Penulis: Kamal Haasan

Pelakon: Kamal Haasan, Manisha Koirala, Raveena Tandon

Pemuzik: Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsan Noorani & Loy Mendonsa

.

Filem: Kaasi

Tahun: 2001

Pengarah: Vinayan

Penulis:

Pelakon: Vikram, Kaveri, Kavya Madhavan

Pemuzik: Ilayaraja

.

Filem: Kutty

Tahun: 2001

Pengarah: Janaki Viswanathan

Penulis: Janaki Viswanathan, Ramesh Arunachalam, Sivasankari

Pelakon: P. Shwetha

Pemuzik: Illayaraja

.

Filem: Azhagi

Tahun: 2002

Pengarah: Thankar Bachan

Penulis:

Pelakon: Parthiban, Nandita Das, Devayani

Pemuzik: Ilayaraja

.

Filem: Kannathil Muthamittal

Tahun: 2002

Pengarah: Mani Ratnam

Penulis: Mani Ratnam, Sujatha & Rangarajan

Pelakon: Madhavan, Simran, Nandita Das

Pemuzik: A. R. Rahman

.

Filem: Solla Marandha Kadhai

Tahun: 2002

Pengarah: Thankar Bachan

Penulis:

Pelakon: Cheran, Rathi

Pemuzik:

.

Filem: Anbe Sivam

Tahun: 2003

Pengarah: Sundar C

Penulis: Kamal Haasan & Madhan

Pelakon: Kamal Haasan, Madhavan

Pemuzik: Vidyasagar

.

Filem: Julie Ganapathy

Tahun: 2003

Pengarah: Balu Mahendra

Penulis:

Pelakon: Saritha, Jayaram

Pemuzik: Ilayaraja

.

Filem: Kaaka Kaaka

Tahun: 2003

Pengarah: Gautam Menon

Penulis: Gautham Menon

Pelakon: Surya, Jyothika, Ramya Krishnan

Pemuzik: Harris Jayaraj

.

Filem: Kovilpatti Veeralakshmi

Tahun: 2003

Pengarah: K. Rajeshwar

Penulis: K. Rajeshwar

Pelakon: Simran

Pemuzik: Vidyasagar

.

Filem: Virumaandi

Tahun: 2004

Pengarah: Kamal Haasan

Penulis: Kamal Haasan

Pelakon: Kamal Haasan, Abhirami, Pasupathy, Nasser

Pemuzik: Ilayaraja

.

Filem: Autograph

Tahun: 2004

Pengarah: Cheran

Penulis: Cheran

Pelakon: Cheran, Sneha

Pemuzik: Bharadwaj

.

Filem: Ghajini

Tahun: 2005

Pengarah: A. R. Murugadoss

Penulis: A. R. Murugadoss

Pelakon: Surya, Asin, Nayantara

Pemuzik: Harris Jayaraj

.

Filem: Raam

Tahun: 2005

Pengarah: Ameer Sultan

Penulis: Ameer Sultan

Pelakon: Jeeva, Saranya

Pemuzik: Yuvan Shankar Raja

.

Filem: Thavamai Thavamirundhu

Tahun: 2005

Pengarah: Cheran

Penulis: Cheran

Pelakon: Cheran, Rajkiran, Saranya

Pemuzik: Sabesh & Murali

.

Filem: Chandramukhi

Tahun: 2005

Pengarah: P. Vasu

Penulis: P. Vasu, Fazil, Madhu Muttam

Pelakon: Rajinikanth, Jyothika, Prabhu

Pemuzik: Vidyasagar

.

Filem: Em Magan

Tahun: 2006

Pengarah: Thirumurugan

Penulis:

Pelakon: Bharath, Nasser, Saranya

Pemuzik: Vidyasagar

.

Filem: Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu

Tahun: 2006

Pengarah: Gautam Menon

Penulis: Gautham Menon

Pelakon: Kamal Haasan, Jyothika, Prakashraj

Pemuzik: Harris Jayaraj

.

Filem: Periyar

Tahun: 2006

Pengarah: Gnana Rajasekharan

Penulis: Janakiraman

Pelakon: Sathyaraj, Kushboo

Pemuzik: Vidyasagar

.

Filem: Paruthiveeran

Tahun: 2007

Pengarah: Ameer Sultan

Penulis: Ameer Sultan

Pelakon: Karthik Sivakumar, Priyamani

Pemuzik: Yuvan Shankar Raja

.

Filem: Mozhi

Tahun: 2007

Pengarah: Radha Mohan

Penulis: Radha Mohan

Pelakon: Prithviraj, Jyothika, Prakashraj

Pemuzik: Vidyasagar

.

Filem: Pallikoodam

Tahun: 2007

Pengarah: Thangar Bachan

Penulis: Thangar Bachan

Pelakon: Narain, Sneha, Shreya, Thangar Bachan

Pemuzik:

.

Filem: Katrathu Tamil

Tahun: 2007

Pengarah: Ram

Penulis: Ram

Pelakon: Jeeva, Anjali

Pemuzik: Yuvan Shankar Raja

.

Filem: Onbathu Roopai Notu

Tahun: 2007

Pengarah: Thangar Bachan

Penulis:

Pelakon: Sathyaraj, Archana, Nasser

Pemuzik: Bharatwaj

.

Filem: Evano Oruvan

Tahun: 2007

Pengarah: Nishikanth Kamath

Penulis: Nishikanth Kamath & Madhavan

Pelakon: Madhavan, Sangeetha

Pemuzik: Sameer & Prakash Kumar

.

Filem: Kalloori

Tahun: 2007

Pengarah: Balaji Sakthivel

Penulis: Balaji Sakthivel

Pelakon: Tamanna, Akil, Hemalatha

Pemuzik: Joshua Sridhar

.

Filem: Pirivom Santhippom

Tahun: 2008

Pengarah: Karu Pazhaniappan

Penulis:

Pelakon: Cheran, Sneha, Jayaram

Pemuzik: Vidyasagar

.

Filem: Vellithirai

Tahun: 2008

Pengarah: Viji

Penulis: Srinivasan & Rosshan Andrrews

Pelakon: Prithviraj, Prakashraj

Pemuzik: Prakash Kumar

.

Filem: Arai En 305-il Kadavul

Tahun: 2008

Pengarah: Chimbudevan

Penulis: Chimbudevan

Pelakon: Prakashraj

Pemuzik: Vidyasagar

.

Filem: Dasavatharam

Tahun: 2008

Pengarah: K. S. Ravikumar

Penulis: Kamal Haasan, K. S. Ravikumar, Sujatha, Rangarajan & Crazy Mohan

Pelakon: Kamal Haasan, Asin

Pemuzik: Himesh, Reshammiya & Devi Sri Prasad

.

Filem: Raman Thediya Seethai

Tahun: 2008

Pengarah: K. P. Jegannath

Penulis: K. P. Jegannath

Pelakon: Cheran, Pasupathy

Pemuzik: Vidyasagar

.

Filem: Kanchivaram

Tahun: 2008

Pengarah: Priyadarshan

Penulis: Priyadarshan

Pelakon: Prakashraj, Shreya

Pemuzik: M. G. Sreekumar

.

Filem: Bommalattam

Tahun: 2008

Pengarah: Bharathiraja

Penulis: Bharathiraja

Pelakon: Arjun, Nana Patekar, Rukmini Vijayakumar

Pemuzik: himesh Reshammiya

.

Filem: Abhiyum Naanum

Tahun: 2008

Pengarah: Radha Mohan

Penulis: Radha Mohan

Pelakon: Prakashraj, Trisha, Ganesh Venkatraman

Pemuzik: Vidyasagar

.

Filem: Unnaipol Oruvan

Tahun: 2009

Pengarah: Chakri Toleti

Penulis: Neeraj Pandey, Kamal Haasan & E. R. Murugan

Pelakon: Kamal Haasan, Mohanlal

Pemuzik: Shruti Haasan

.

Filem: Yavarum Nalam

Tahun: 2009

Pengarah: Vikram Kumar

Penulis: Vikram Kumar

Pelakon: Madhavan

Pemuzik: Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsan Noorani, Loy Mendonsa & Tubby Parik

.

Filem: Naan Kadavul

Tahun: 2009

Pengarah: Bala

Penulis: Bala & Jayamohan

Pelakon: Arya, Pooja

Pemuzik: Ilayaraja

.

Filem: Aadum Koothu

Tahun: 2009

Pengarah: T. V. Chandran

Penulis: T. V. Chandran

Pelakon: Navya Nair, Prakashraj, Cheran, Seeman

Pemuzik: Lsaac Thomas Kotukkapulli

.

Filem: Eeram

Tahun: 2009

Pengarah: Arivazhagan Venkatachalam

Penulis: Arivazhagan Venkatachalam

Pelakon: Aadhi, Sindhu Menon, Nandha

Pemuzik: Thaman

.

Filem: Achamundu! Achamundu!

Tahun: 2009

Pengarah: Arun Vaidyanathan

Penulis: Arun Vaidyanathan

Pelakon: Prasanna, Sneha, John Shea

Pemuzik: Karthik Raja

.

Filem: Pokkisham

Tahun: 2009

Pengarah: Cheran

Penulis: Cheran

Pelakon: Cheran, Padmapriya, Aryan Rajesh

Pemuzik: Sabesh & Murali

.

Filem: Newtonin Moondram Vidhi

Tahun: 2009

Pengarah: Thai Muthuselvan

Penulis:

Pelakon: S. J. Suria, Sayali Bhagat, Rajiv Krishna

Pemuzik:

.

Filem: Nadodigal

Tahun: 2009

Pengarah: Samuthirakani

Penulis: Samuthirakani

Pelakon: Sasikumar, Vijay Vasanth, Bharani

Pemuzik: Sundar C. Babu

.

Saya harap tiada filem Tamil bermutu 2000-2009 yang tertinggal daripada senarai “wajib tonton” ini!

Aadum Koothu

“Annei annei aadum kootei
Naade seitai ennai”
.

Bertolak daripada rangkap sajak Subramaniam Barathi, filem “Aadum Koothu” (skrip dan arahan T.V. Chandran) menjanjikan pengalaman yang benar-benar berbeza sejak babak pertama; apatah lagi apabila membabitkan pelakon Cheran yang sedia dikenal sebagai artis yang memilih tema yang lain aripada yang lain.

.

Saya berpeluang menonton filem Tamil ini pada 21 Mei 2009. Catatan ini dibuat pada 22 Mei 2009.

.

[SPOILER ALERT]

.

Watak Manimegalai (lakonan Navya Nair) juga berjaya meniupkan imej positif bagi pelakon wanita kerana filem ini – sebagaimana filem “Naan Kadavul” – memberi keutamaan pada kemampuan berlakon artis wanita.

.

Manimegalai yang banyak membaca karya fiksyen Bahasa Tamil dikatakan suka berkhayal. Apatah lagi setelah menerima gelang tangan pemberian bakal suaminya; di mana gelang itu kononnya menyimpan “rahsia” filem-filem Tamil zaman hitam-putih.

.

Penonton dibawa untuk turut mencari-cari dan tercari-cari batas antara realiti dan fiksyen (ingat cerpen “Rudra Avatara”?) apabila Manimegalai yang berusia 19 tahun boleh melihat suatu insiden yang berlaku pada masa silam – membabitkan sepasang penari kampung (“koothaadi”) dan seorang zamindar.

.

Imej hitam-putih tanpa dialog dan kemudian bertukar ke imej warna berterusan sehingga akhirnya memaksa Manimegalai berusaha mencari puncanya. Apatah lagi, penari wanita bernama Valliamma dalam imaginasinya itu adalah dirinya sendiri yang dibotakkan kepala oleh zamindar yang zalim.

.

Manimegalai dan bakal suaminya pergi berjumpa seorang bekas guru (lakonan Prakash Raj). Lalu, kita (sebagaimana Manimegalai) mendapat tahu bahawa apa yang hadir dalam imaginasi Manimegalai adalah penggambaran sebuah filem pada tahun 1975 di mana Cheran menjadi pengarah dan pelakon utama, pelakon wanita bernama Prabha Menon (lakonan Navya Nair juga) memegang watak Valliamma, dan watak guru (lakonan Prakash Raj) memegang watak zamindar.

.

Prabha Menon bersetuju untuk benar-benar membotakkan kepala bagi memberi kesan “realiti” pada watak Valliamma lakonannya. Malangnya, pengambaran terhenti selepas babak membotakkan kepala itu, berikutan ugutan daripada anak kepada zamindar yang terlibat melakukan penganiayaan sebenar terhadap Valliamma suatu masa dahulu.

.

Bagi Prabha Menon, pembatalan filem itu adalah “suatu kehilangan bagi pengorbanannya”.

.

Bagi watak pengarah filem lakonan Cheran, dia sebenarnya telah berusaha menghasilkan filem berdasarkan kisah benar kezaliman zamindar yang pernah dilihatnya sendiri semasa kanak-kanak.

.

Seperti katanya, dia mahu “melakukan di layar perak apa yang tidak mampu dilakukannya dalam realiti” – iaitu memberi “keadilan” kepada penduduk yang tertindas oleh zamindar.

.

Namun, selepas segala apa yang berlaku, pemuda itu memutuskan untuk “melakukan dalam realiti apa yang tidak mampu dilakukannya di layar perak” – menghukum zamindar yang menindas penduduk.

.

Latar, suasana dan keadaan politik semasa pada tahun pertengahan 1970-an di India memberi kesan “realiti” pada apa yang berlaku dalam filem ini.

.

Watak Manimegalai yang lahir pada tahun 1985 pula seterusnya mendapat ilham selepas Prakash Raj membawanya ke pusara Cheran; dan pada batu nesan tertera petikan sajak Subramaniam Barathi:

.

“Annei annei aadum kootei

Naade seitai ennai”
.

Manimegalai berusaha mencari penari kampung (“koothaadi”) bernama Valliamma yang pernah benar-benar dibotakkan kepalanya oleh seorang zamindar.

.

Dan kita berpeluang melihat Manorama sebagai Valliamma yang sudah tua. …

.

“Annei annei aadum kootei

Naade seitai ennai”
.

Selamat datang ke dunia filem Tamil bermutu yang merangsang minda!

.

Sila KLIK DI SINI untuk senarai “Filem Tamil Wajib Tonton” (2000-2009).

What Tamil Writers?

Tamil creative writing in Malaysia, which emerged in the 1930s, was largely confined to trite themes until recently. Uthaya Sankar SB writes.
.

.
ONE can be forgiven if one has never heard of – never mind, read – Malaysian Tamil authors.
.
It’s not that they don’t exist. It’s just that they are not known (or made known) to a non-Tamil-speaking audience.
.
In fact, Tamil creative writing is nothing new in Malaysia. The first Tamil novel by an author known simply as Vengadaratnam was published in 1917 while the first anthology of Tamil short stories, by one V. Sinniah Pillai, was published 13 years later.
.
Since the Fifties, newspapers like Tamil Nesan, Tamil Celvan, Tamil Kodi, Malaysia Nanban, Inba Nilayam, Senthamilcelvi and Tamil Murasu have played an important role for Tamil writers.
.
When interviewed recently, Dr Krishanan Maniam, of the Department of Indian Studies, University of Malaya, observed that the first generation of Tamil writers in Malaya were very much tied to their homelands.
.
Their stories took place in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, while their themes in general dealt with India’s independence, the caste system and dowries.
.
Dr V. Poobalan, a veteran Tamil poet and well-known figure in Malaysian Tamil literature, agrees. “For nearly 30 years, Tamil newspapers in Malaya had to rely on short story writers from Tamil Nadu to fill the pages. And since these writers knew little about Malaya, the country was not reflected in their stories,” he says.
.
During the Japanese Occupation in Malaya, the Tamil community was encouraged by the Japanese to publish anti-British newspapers.
.
Since Subash Chandra Bose was fighting for the independence of India, the Japanese encouraged Indians in Malaya to join the Indian Independence League and the Indian National Army.
.
Three of the most important Tamil newspapers published during the Japanese Occupation were Sutandira India, Sutandirotayam and Yuwa Bharatam – all promoting India’s independence.
.
These newspapers published at least 50 short stories in three years. All the stories still dealt with issues in India and used India as its setting.
.
“Another interesting fact is that the content (story) is more important than the form (technique) in those stories. What a writer wanted to say was more important than how he or she said it,” Krishanan summarises.
.
As for the Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka-based theme and setting, things started to change in the Fifties.
.
Dr M. Ramaiyah, a writer and critic, observes that as early as 1950, steps were taken to produce Tamil short stories which were “Malayan” in theme and setting.
.
“However, magazines and newspapers were still publishing works from Tamil Nadu,” he says. He also points out that a notable exception was Tamil Sudar, a magazine which had a strict policy of publishing only Malayan Tamil writers.
.
In 1950, Athi Nagappan, the chief editor of Tamil Nesan, made a statement that would live on in notoriety. He said that none of the writers who were published in the previous year deserved to be called writers. The result was that writers wrote better to prove him wrong.
.
Tamil Murasu started a column to help writers improve their skills. Later, published stories were discussed in writers’ groups, again with the aim to improve the quality of local Tamil fiction.
.
R. Karthigesu, S. Peer Mohamad, M. Sultan and K. Krishnasamy, who gained prominence in the Fifties and Sixties, are among those who emerged from the above efforts.
.
Thus, observes Krishanan, the Tamil short story in Malaya was born in 1930 with the publication of the first anthology of short stories, matured in the Fifties, and developed rapidly in the Sixties.
.
Still, the works of Malaysian Tamil writers are not known outside a very tight circle.
.
A closer look might reveal why these stories have not been translated to Bahasa Malaysia or English for a wider audience.
.
Most of the Malaysian Tamil writers in the Forties, Fifties and Sixties were Tamil-educated. They were mostly teachers in Tamil schools, journalists, Public Works Department workers and government servants. Most of them had not read stories in other languages, their reading material being mainly from Tamil Nadu.
.
The result was story after story about love and marriage, poverty, estate life and Tamil education. The writers had ended up “riding their horse in a clay pot” as the Tamil proverb goes.
.
“The themes are conventional, and lack conflict and a surprise ending,” says Krishanan, who analysed Malaysian Tamil short stories from 1957 to 1969 for his master’s degree. “If you’ve read one, you’ve read them all.”
.
Kaathal Vadhu” (“Love’s Scar”) by Ramaiyah tells the story of lovers Kumaran and Vasanthi. No prizes for guessing the end – she leaves him to marry a graduate.
.
Kaathal Thiyagam” (“Sacrifice for Love”) by P. Arunasalam deals with the story of a man who sacrifices his love after he finds out that his best friend is also in love with the same woman.
.
Stories which centre on family problems tend to end with characters committing suicide, as death seems to be the only answer.
.
Krishanan believes that the writers do not try to build strong characters who can become role models for the masses. Tamil stories are also often characterised by melodrama.
.
In Arunasalam’s “Uravu” (“Relation”), Megalai indulges in pre-marital sex with Segar and is thus strongly opposed to her father’s plan to marry her off to Kumuthan. Meanwhile, upon knowing he is to become a father, Segar disappears. Megalai’s father kills himself, Kumuthan dies, and – again, no prizes for guessing – Megalai commits suicide.
.
Generally speaking, this is the state of the Tamil literary scene in Malaysia. Content takes precedence over form. Even then, one need not have a new story to tell – one can always rehash the same story for the hundredth time. In fact, it seems that as long as you are competent in written Tamil, you can see your story in print.
.
Are there any new writers who can make a difference?
.
Yes, if given a chance. Unfortunately, many claim that editors prefer to publish conventional stories, saying that that is what Tamil readers have wanted since the Thirties.
.
What they don’t seem to realise is that there is a growing group of readers who want something fresh.
.
In 1997, writer M. Balachandran compiled Illa Manathin Vergal, an anthology of 12 Tamil short stories by eight young writers.
.
Though published under the Department of Media Studies, University of Malaya, I personally financed the cost fully in an attempt to prove that this was also what Tamil readers wanted.
.
Illa Manathin Vergal was a sell-out. The entire print run of 3,000 copies sold in a year at a cover price of RM10. [Note: The money and the award for the book went into Balachandran’s pocket.]
.
It proved two things: There is a new breed of talented young writers, and readers are ready for their unconventionality.
.
“Tamil readers used to have limited resources since they would read mainly Tamil books, magazines and newspapers,” says Vidyasaagar, editor of Thendral.
.
Now, however, he says, those who read Tamil stories also read in Bahasa Malaysia and English, so they are in a position to compare and comment.
.
These are the new readers whom Tamil writers should address. And hopefully, by the time non-Tamil-speaking readers come to know about Malaysian Tamil writing, there’ll be something really good on offer. - READ A LITTLE BIT MORE HERE
.
(Uthaya Sankar SB, “What Tamil Writers?” New Straits Times, 11 February 2004)