Literary events, especially in Tamil, may not usually excite the urban dwelling. But this was not the case at the Krishna Gana Sabha which set the stage for literary talks about Tamil, along with an award function for a short story writing contest by Palsuvai Kaaviyam, a new magazine.
The competition announced by the magazine witnessed a whopping 747 entries which were short listed to 38 in three different stages. Among these 38, the first three prizes and two special prizes were selected by a three-member panel comprising Tamil scholars Tiruppur Krishnan, Seetha Ravi and Veerapandian. The entries were not restricted to the domestic circle as stories flowed in from countries like the US and UK. Being conducted on a large scale, many first timers also submitted their pieces. One interesting aspect was that some stories were authored by prison inmates. Most stories revolved around nature or social awareness and the winning story titled Mazhai Peiyum was by Kamala Indrajith. The 67-year-old, who writes for many leading Tamil newspapers, said that her story revolved around the lives of farmers who resort to suicide due to failure of monsoon. Citing the mass suicides in India, she felt that it was her duty to underline such issues since she hailed from a village which was dependent mostly on farm lands.
“Literature is born when something false is being portrayed as true, with people believing that,” said Prabanjan, while lauding the winners of the competition. He also said, “Short story is the most difficult thing to write.” In a flowing tone, he narrated a short story by Anton Chekov and explained how it was one of the stories that triggered the Russian Revolution in 1917.
The winners of this competition were awarded prize money along with shields and a memorabilia and the overall winner was awarded `25,000.
During the event, editor of Tamil magazine Amudha Surabhi exhorted writers to creatively experiment their writing styles and the manner in which stories are conveyed.
He also regretted how badly the Tamil language was being in the film industry. Gnanasambandhan’s speeches were laced with humour, making the event more entertaining. He extensively spoke on the the absence of good humour in Tamil literature today.