PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, Dec 17|15: Tamil writer A. Madhavan, one of the finest exponents of naturalist writing with an undertone of lust hiding in human consciousness, has been selected for this year’s Sahitya Akademi award for his collected prose writings Ilakkiya Chuvadukal. A staunch supporter of the Dravidian Movement, Mr. Madhavan’s earlier works were published in the Pongal special issues of Murasoli, the official organ of the DMK alongwith party leader M. Karunanidhi and its founder C.N. Annadurai. “Probably I would have joined politics if I have lived in Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Madhavan, a native of Tirunelveli district who was born and brought up in Thiruvananthapuram, used to say. Family circumstances forced him to quit school and go to work. Later, he set up his own shop in Chalai, a commercial locality and the window for his writing. Most of Mr. Madhavan’s stories are based on real life incidents played out in Chaalai. Sitting in his shop — Selvi Stores — and watching the fight for survival unfolds itself in the street, Madhavan creates his stories in a distinct style and form. “It is a kind of counterfeit world and Madhavan’s literary works are just an extension of the street,” writer Jayamohan said. Akademi’s selection comes as a surprise as the 82-yearold Madhavan, who, living in Thiruvananthapuram without the shadows of fame and appreciation established a name as a short story writer and novelist. “As the Akademi has to to confer the award to a recent work, it would have selected his prose collection,” said Mr. Jayamohan, who constantly wrote and spoke about the literary merits of Mr. Madhavan’s works. “You can call him as an Oru Kadaitheruvin Kalaignan (An artiste of a trader street). A few can match his naturalist writing with photographic details while narrating the evil side of humans,” said Mr. Jayamohan. Mr. Madhavan, who has published a few short story collections (now published as a single volume) and three novels including Krishna Parunthu, considered as his masterpiece, always claimed that the inspiration came from the ideals of Dravidian Movement and its writers. “Krishna Parunthu captures the harsh reality of the darker side of humans. Krishna Parunthu (Brahminy Kite), worshipped as Garudua, may fly high, but its eyes are always fixed on the prey on the ground,” said Tamizhini Vasanthakumar, the publisher of the novel. If “Ilakkiyam Pesi, a short story, talks about how a shop owner is fleeced by a customer who discusses literature, another story Paachi like R.K. Narayan’s The Blind Dog, poignantly discusses.
