[HedgeYourBets]

Pasupathy,

"ilakkiya sinthanai" is the organization which meets every month to choose the story of the month from all the published stories in that particular month; an interesting aspect is that readers are used to select the stories. Finally, the best story of the month is chosen from these 12. All the twelve are published by Vaanathi Pathippagam every year. (thiru. Vaasan's list above reflect some of the chosen stories from ilakkiya sindhanai--I don't know if he's aware of it.)

Thiruppur Thamizh Sangam, Katha, lilly vinaayagam Trust(hope I got that right!), Kalki/ Kumudam/ Kanaiyaazhi competitions, and several other Trusts recognize short stories in their own ways.

There are some anthologies which can be used as references too, compiled by Asokamithran, Dilipkumar, Sa.Kandhasamy, Pirabanchan, and those published by organizations by ilakkiya sindhanai, Sahitya Academy and kuRaL peedam. Given the rich diversity of contemporary Tamil short fiction, there are several criteria which can be used to define and tailor an anthology; I personally believe the final decision always rests with the Editor(s) regardless of whether the nominations are obtained from a prestigious panel, people's panel, or through a one-person selection, as long as the criteria are defined well.

You are right about the translation being able to communicate to an "outside" audience effectively. I've heard many critics say that this is where several translations of contemporary tamil works fail to date. I have no comments on these critiques since I've read the Thamizh originals only.

An aside:
Writer Sujatha selects "mahaabali" from his written works in the A-V list. I personally would pick a story like "nakaram", which had a tremendous impact on me as a reader. Some other reader may pick yet another story. An interesting learning by itself.

[tgs]

Kani,
I wrote to Sujatha and asked him about this when he gave this list in Vikatan., He replied that there is one more 'Kottu meLam' by laa. sa. raa which came in KalaimagaL magazine.,

Kanchana, I thought of writing about 'Nagaram' as Sujatha's best, Munthik koNdeerkaL.,

Lavanya ...

[Beerinkol]

amma oru kolai seithaal - Ambai
anjaraipettiyil pillayaar muthalaanoor - Ambai
(not sure of this title)

[NeroASERCH]

Balaji,
Thanks ..the list looks pretty good.Perhaps it really relects the post-Independence period nicely. What about early years ? Should not they be represented as well? ( See , e.g. the many
volumes of Story Collections published by Alliance. To my knowledge, they have issued Four 'KataikkOvai's. Each contains more than 50 stories ..all by different writers. I think their effort is very laudable since it is perhaps the first such one by any Book Publisher ...in such exhaustive manner. But I am sure those selections will not match Sujatha's list! )

The following concerns remain in my mind.
1. Difficulty in preparing "the best" list. This is similar to "best" pictures... the judgement of peers ( supposedly Oscar), judgement of Critics (Critics' Choice Awards), Popular Choice etc. All
will differ many times.
In Tamil fiction, rightnow we do not have a good mechanism for polling a large number of readers. If all the Tamil magazines (with Web presence) start a best story of the Year poll, slowly we may get a list of "best" from each Magazine according to Readers' choice. I am told that an organization ( Crea? Ilakkiya Vattam ?) meets regularly in Chennai to choose the best story of the year in a particular magazine. Such efforts are all to be encouraged. Finally critics, Tamil Writers' Assn etc should also start awarding Prizes every year.. look at Mystery Writers' Assn in USA... .
2. Another question: Such a translation is aiming at which audience? Will the reader have the background to understand the cultural background of the stories or does one need 'footnotes' and explanations... Even very good translations of Tamil works suffer in this regard. e.g. Prof Zvelebil's translation of U.vE.sA's autobiography ..there are a lot of details which will leave the uninitiated reader completely lost... One needs an Annotated Translation to cross the cultural divide. In fact, such annotation is needed even for Tamil readers of the same book !
3. Since it is a popular name or a prestigious panel which will usually sell such Translations, the best course of action..may very well be to choose a well-respected author/critic and go with his/her list.At least the name will sell the book. ( When I buy Best Mystery Stories collections, I usually go this route. ..go with the choice of a person I respect..)

[radikal]

I read a translation of Na. Muthuswamy's stories. (I think the translation was by someone called Lakshmi Holstrom). The stories were very interesting.. particularly Death (Ezhuppu?), Who shall be my refuge? (Yaar thunai?). I though the translations were rather too raw. If your goal is to translate the 'best' so far in Tamil short fiction , do consider this writer.

Vijay

[MannoFr]

English Translation of Writer Jayakanthan's works by Mr.Ananda Sundaresan are published at Jayakanthan Page (http://www.tamil.net/people/pksivakumar)

Thanks.

[NeroASERCH]

i forgot to add this. i'm sure iyal people already know this.think carefully what will appeal to your audience. that may not be the same as what appeals to the tamil lit circles including small magazines and other award-giving organisations like ilakkiya sindhanai.

best of luck, friends

[LottiFurmann]

Sorry, please ignore the ) at the end of the Jayakanthan Page URL. Somehow it became part of the link. It is http://www.tamil.net/people/pksivakumar

[PhillipHer]

Ahaa...i must have missed this thread b4. is iyal in india or where? i would like to tell the trust Iyal a few things.

1.if this translation is meant for outside india, pls do not include tamil authors experiments with postmodernism, magical realism and other western isms.
2.vattaara vazhaku also may not translate very well into english.
3. please make sure translation quality is good.my non-tamil (indian) friends laugh at translation quality.some had the same problems vj mentions.
4. don't trust just one single writer's or critic's recommendation.they all have cliques and groups and will recommend "their" people only.
5. final decision should be with one or two people only.i have read anthologies in english and tamil.each anthology is different in what it has depending on who make the choices
6.is the trust collecting money from others or a private endowment? i don't trust those who collect

it sounds like worthwhile project and lot of hard work.wish u the best of luck

[9mm_fan]

forgot to add

"ilakkiya cinthanai" has its best 12 short
stories of the year since 1967.Getting hold
of those 33 x 12 = 396 s.stories should help.

[LottiFurmann]

1. Seevan ('Jeevan') --- by Gandarvan. It is about a 'muni' residing in an aalamaram and a pichaik kaaran parked there.
The legends on the exploits of muni, and anecdotes about a cross-section of villagers are remarkably well brought out in such a short story. (from the anthology "pUvukkuk kIzhE" by Agaram (or Annam?)publishers, Sivagangai. Actually many stories there are good.).

2. Pakkaththil vandha appa -- by Sundararamasamy
A story from a child's point of view-- great educative experience on how children see parents and other adults. Very much readable too.

[Fegasderty]

jkmkk

[Lt_Apple]

Topic started by hub admin (@ siebel200.siebel.com) on Tue Jan 16 13:58:06 .


Iyal, a newly established trust, is planning to publish an anthology of some of the best of tamil short stories translated to english. Your input is needed. What are the best short stories in tamil literature, in your opinion? Any genre is welcome. This thread will also help people to get an introduction to the best short stories in our literature and read them.

[NeroASERCH]

Lavanya & Murugan, thanks for the info

[PhillipHer]

vassan, we are talking about stories that will be good for translation. looking for more recommendations from you. i will put a permanent list here at the end as a reference for beginners.

[softy54534]

Forgot to add one more very comprehensive anthology: "irubathaam nURRaaNdin siRantha siRukathaikaL" Volumes 1-5 (Vol.5 to be released soon), compiled by Vittal Rao. Of course, there are also numerous short story collections orgaized by authors, magazines,(Kanaiyaazhi, Deepam, KaChaTaThaPaRa etc.), "female writers"(!) and so on.

Ramani,
I think you are right about the name of that Trust.

vj,
Good to see you here after a long time. Yes, Na. Muthusamy is a solid short story writer, imo. Did you read the translation of his collection "neermai"? (Ms. Lakshmi Holstrom of UK, is known for her translations; it is interesting to note you consider her translations "raw"; I'll be reading some of her sample translations soon.)

vaasan,
nanRi. I have the ilakkiya sinthanai collections upto 1999. Have read a few thousand short stories so far, and still going! Of course, I've read Mauni's collection; however, if there's an autographed copy around, I'd love to get that from his son

Posting short stories in the other thread is a good idea; please make sure to cite the source so as to honor copyright laws. I noted you are currently posting A.Muthulingam's "Visa". He is one of the notable contemporary writers whose writings have subtle undertones of irony and tongue-in-cheek humor. As a UN officer, he's lived in many parts of the world and several stories reflect his exposure to multiple cultures. I think his "vadakku veedhi" short story collection won the Sri Lankan Sahitya Academy Award award last year (or, was it "vamsa viruththi" short story collection? Knowledgeables, please feel free to correct any wrong info here.)

After everyone's had some time to read "Visa" by A.Muthulingam in the other thread, I can post a story by one of those "lesser known" authors. It is amazing how so many authors have vanished after writing a few impactful stories. I wonder if their creative juices ran dry or did Life just swallow them up?

[brraverishhh]

Balaji Wrote:

.."Iyal, a newly established trust, is planning to publish an anthology of some of the best of tamil short stories translated to english. Your input is needed.."

I'm not sure if Balaji is talking about short stories that have
been translated "already" or the ones that might qualify for a translation to English...

Assuming Iyal is trying to collect a list of Tamil Short stories for translation,here is a partial list...[imho]



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[tgs]

"anjaraipettiyil pillayaar muthalaanoor - Ambai (not sure of this title)"

Kani, I think you mean "plastic dappAvil parAsakthi muthaliyOr"

[Raj_Copi_Jin]

>> laa.sa.raa - kottu mELam
>> iraa. murugan - uththaraayaNam

Just wanted to make sure whether it is typed correctly by you or not. 'Kottu mElam' was written by Thi.Janakiraman and 'Utharayanam' was written by La.Sa.Ra.


Well, my uTharAyaNam was published in Subhamangala in 1994.

[9mm_fan]

Hi Kanchana,
Yes, Muthuswamy is an interesting short story writer. I have been reading short stories in regional languages on and off and I was surprised by the imaginative literary skill of Muthuswamy. In a style I can call 'delusional narrative', reminiscent of Gunther Grass, he writes about the urban-rural divide and beautifuly conjures up memories of tamil village life. Translating the idiom he used is definitely a difficult job and given the difficulties, Lakshmi Holstrom did a reasonable job.. but I' sure it can be done better. I was particularly referring to the rawness of grammar.