Most men embrace a single vocation in their lifetime — even then, few are successful in their chosen areas of interest. Author extraordinaire Kalki. Ra. Krishnamurthy, though, was something of a rarity: he managed to be a freedom fighter, a talented writer, traveler, poet, journalist and a veritable connoisseur of the fine arts. Tamil history would never be the same when the man wrote a novel of epic proportions a la Alexander Dumas: Ponniyin Selvan.
Serious literary enthusiasts might disregard Kalki’s influence, but even they daren’t dismiss the way he re-wrote Tamil literature, circa the 1950s - especially historical fiction. A vast swathe of writers followed his lead: Chandilyan, Kovi Manisekaran, Vikaraman and even now, 110 years after the author’s birth, in the age of IT corridors and Web 2.0, historical fiction thrives - with brand-new authors.
“The first emotion when I told them I was writing a sequel to 'Ponniyin Selvan'? Disbelief,” chuckles Venketesh Ramakrishnan, related to the Moopanar family, author of 'Kaviri Maindhan' and 'Thillaiyil Oru Kollaikkaaran'. That soon changed, and his efforts - bad hand-writing apart - won him fans.
For V Dhivakar, author of Thirumalai Thirudan and Vamsadhara, Kalki is to literature what Shivaji Ganesan is to cinema. “Whoever writes historical fiction will be compared to Kalki,” insists this author, who once worked for the New Indian Express himself. “But there’s always a place for good writers,” he smirks.
“My ambition is to go beyond Kalki,” asserts Gokul Seshadri, a software professional who jumped in for the sheer joy of history — and has found firm footing with Rajakesari and Paisasam. “Kalki is an excellent inspiration, but you need to go ahead, not just provide variations of his writing.”
Despite the knowledge that writers don’t make much money these writers are firm in their belief that historical fiction has begun to flourish in a state with polarized opinions on the propagation of the Tamil language. “Quality writing always has takers,” they chorus. “We need to take Tamil historical fiction to the next level,” they say brimming with pride.