Every city and most of the towns in India have gone through huge changes in the last four or five decades. Almost all the suburbs in Chennai (Madras) have 'lake-view' street but there are no lakes to be found; the unbridled development had led to apartment complexes and houses standing in those lakes. Only when... Continue Reading →
The word aunt in English denotes both mother's and father's sister. But most of the Indian languages have different words for aunt; in Tamil, Chitti means mother's younger sister and father's sister is called Athai. In the winter of 1995, I was taking a chemical (Polymer) trial in a paper plant near Kalyan, a distant... Continue Reading →
Asokamitran first appeared here in What Should I Tell Father – Asokamitran. He is known for his simple style and prose. He does not waste too much time in description and commentary. Just a word or two and he would go straightaway into dialogues. This is one of my favourite stories. Read on.... Two Finger Typing இரண்டு... Continue Reading →
Teachers are fascinating people. At least I can say that about the teachers till I was in school. They inspire thousands of students every year. I have mentioned about two such teachers of mine in my blog, Two Great Teachers. Some of the most interesting short stories I have translated are about teachers, Ku Azhagirisamy's Kumarapuram... Continue Reading →
Mohan Ram and I met Kapil Dev, the legendary cricketer the other day. I am exaggerating a bit here. Saying 'hello' and getting smiled at in return would not constitute a meeting. We saw Kapil Dev in person would be more apt. (Mohan Ram ended up taking a selfie though). Cricket fans who watched the... Continue Reading →
Subramani Bharathi or Mahakavi Bharathiyar, as he is affectionately known, is perhaps the best known poet from Tamil Nadu. In cricket parlance he was an all rounder a la Garfield Sobers. He was not just a poet, but also a freedom fighter, social reformer, fiery orator, an outstanding spokesperson for women's liberation. His thoughts and... Continue Reading →
The simple writing style of Ashokamitran (one of the best known authors in Tamil), is simply breathtaking. Readers would have seen that in What Should I Tell Father – Asokamitran. One more example is this story. Read on..... His Favourite Star அவனுக்க்கு பிடித்த நட்சத்திரம். Sriram was twenty one years old. He had just written his B.A... Continue Reading →
One more story about teachers, a subject close to my heart, from my favourite author, Thi Janakiraman. Crown of Thorns முள்முடி - தி. ஜானகிராமன் "So can we take leave sir?" as soon as Kannusamy said this, the crowd which was sitting close to him stood up as well. "I will take leave sir." "I will... Continue Reading →
I walked into a Head Office of a Paper Mill in Andheri, a suburb of Mumbai (Bombay) yesterday with a colleague of mine. I checked with the receptionist if we could meet the head of the commercial department for a few minutes. She asked me if we had an appointment. I told her we did... Continue Reading →
