[Peptobismol]

I'm very much a newbie-reader in Thamizh literature. Of whatever little I've read so far, some of the writing (Thamizh and transations) that I've immensely enjoyed have been of Pudhumaipithan, Mouni, LaSaRa and Nakulan. From searches on the net, I understand that these writers were also contributors to the magazine Manikodi, the highly-acclaimed, path-breaking literary magazine from the 1930s. This piece in The Hindu speaks about a book that was launched in 2001, a collection of works published originally in Manikodi.

Request folks to share any links/information/memories/gyan on Manikodi. Cheers!

[PhillipHer]

Manikodi - one of the most significant literary magazines in Thamizh literature.

[Beerinkol]

An excerpt from an article by Sundara Ramaswamy called Meet the author (from the World Tamil Writers Forum site):

My mother used to enjoy reading the stories that came out in a magazine called Manikodi, which was published in the thirties, and was responsible for the renaissance of our language. Pudumaipithan, Na. Pitchamurthy. Ku.Pa.Rajagopalan, Ka. Naa. Subramoniam, CS. Chellappa, B.S. Ramaiah and Mauni were the important contributors to this magazine. They all belonged to the last generation and their chemistry was totally different from today’s generation. All of them were a breed of sincere writers who tried to change the quality of life because of their love for it. They were sincere to themselves and their experiences. I was greatly influenced by Pudumaipithan, who I believe is the most significant writer in this group. When I was fifteen and bed ridden, my mother often used to talk me about the magazine Manikodi and some of the names of the writers I mentioned earlier. Her favorite writer was Na. Pitchamurthy. These conversations induced me to see a different world to dream about.

In those days, I happened to read a collection of stories by Pudumaipithan, without realizing the name of the author because the book was a library copy whose front flap was missing. From the first to the last, each story gave me a new experience I felt physically. The story which influenced me the most was Mahamasanam (The Great Graveyard) which describes the death of a muslim beggar on the sidewalk of Mount Road, a major artery of Madras and the continuous flow of day to day life around him as he dies. Intoxicated by his writing my world began to revolve around what he had written. Over the next few years, I was consumed by reading and remembering his stories over and over again. Later in my life after I had written a few stories, poems and a novel, I suddenly realized one day, that the madness created inside me by Pudumaipithan was a fascination for realism. At that time, the entire backdrop of literature in my language was that of romanticism, which included great writers such as Kamban, Illango and Subramania Bharathi as well as an exhaustive list of absurd writers. Pudumaipithan’s serious concern about what was happening around him was thus a great inspiration to me.

[tgs]

Mud – a short story by La Sa Ramamirtham
First things first. I haven’t read the Thamizh original of this story, but the translated version itself works quite wonderfully.
LSR’s writing style has this charming quality of painting the settings and the characters in it. This powerful tale of an outcast potter family left an indelible impression on me; I fantasize adapting this tale to cinema or stage some day.

PS:
Allakai – modhalaali! Nooru vada poten, nooru idli poten, nooru poori poten. Vera enna podalam.
Vadivel – Dhindukkallku oru phone-a pottu un manda size-ku oru poottu onnu sollu. Kendeen-a ezhuthu moodeervom!

[S.T.D.]

Macha Maestro